While each album from the canon of New York’s prolific LostPatrol has featured singular high points, the band’s 2013 outing Driven is
perhaps the trio’s most atmospherically cohesive record to date. Indeed, permeated by a consistently chaotic
undercurrent, almost every song here feels inspired, starting with the sleepy
bounce of the opening track, “Spinning”.
The haunting, melodic pop of “All Tomorrow’s Promises”
conjures visions of sunrise and western skies, the while reaffirming the Lost
Patrol’s status as hit-makers of an alternate plane. Vocalist Mollie Israel skulks through “A
Chance of Rain” like Enya’s wicked stepsister. And shades of Sam the Sham creep about the haunted-house swing of
“Little Black Kitten”.
Amidst the snarling groove of “See You in Hell”, Israel
channels a more worldly version of the psycho-bitch persona that first surfaced
on “In Your Blood” (from the band’s 2010 effort, Dark Matter). “You wanna play / You might get beat / If you
wanna win / You’d better learn to cheat,” she taunts.
Longtime Lost Patrol fans will take comfort in the signature
twilit landscape summoned by the dark trinity of Israel’s vocals, Michael
Williams’s infallible 12-string rhythm, and Stephen Massucci’s soaring,
Sailor-and-Lula-meet-the-Shadows guitar work. However, each album has also reflected
the band’s determination to reach beyond its comfort zone, and Driven is no
exception – from the spacey, mock-Theremin on “A Chance of Rain” to the
piano-lounge jazz of “Just Go” (the latter also providing a rare, unfiltered
glimpse of Israel’s vocal chops). This
combination of new and familiar terrain makes Driven a ride worth taking for
old and new fans alike.
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