Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Drive Like You Stole It

Frequency

Label: Undergroove Recordings Release Date: 15/03/2004

5702
-Raz- by Raziq Rauf March 11th, 2004

The debut release of any band has always been my favourite. I fear the intemperate beast which has not had enough time to become considered and accurate; the sheer raw power exuded from a youthfully endowed gang of hopeful upstarts. If, generally,those people are youthful brats devouring three litres of clear cider in a blinkered fuel of teen angst then Drive Like You Stole It are the wizened rebels that have settled and are now enjoying their favourite whiskey on the verandah. They have had time to calculate and disobey the orders they have been given in the way in which they choose, free from the obstruction of unknown emotion clouding their judgement. Some will argue that this is how to do it. With just cause.

You will gladly add another female-front person to your library, for Mel Young’s ferocious melodies are snarled and swooned in equal measure, filling you with such rapture as to forget the lame comparisons that come with such a small pool of contemporaries. Whilst said peers rely on the woman to do all the work, so to speak, there is none of that here. No part of this band remains non-descript. With a rhythm section to cling to your bowels for, DLYSI batter a new life into the many stolen ideas which form their masterplan.

A mix of the lush, dynamic intricacies of recent Cave In and the near-magical pop susceptibilities of Foo Fighters** comes across here in patterns Fugazi would be proud of - far more evolved than just any ordinary début. ‘Sleight of Hand’ _has the stop-starts and chattering guitar that you might expect from what we have come to call emo music, but coupled with the lilting lament flowing overhead and the extorted reply from bassist Simon Young brings an antagonising sentiment to the fore. The title track of _‘Frequency’ _brings that snarl and that swoon together perfectly after the slightly strained backdrop of _‘The Sound of Second Place’ but the thunderous epilogue of _‘Hooray for Everything’ _will combat the greatest efforts of any of their generation.

However, you know that the next offering will be more polished and will be led with a better execution and because of this, instead of seeming like the greatest album that you’ve heard, this merely teases you into wondering what on earth they will bring in the years to come.

  • 8
    Raziq Rauf's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound's Albums of the Year 2025


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing



Left-arrow

God Is My Co-Pilot

Peops

Mobback
5692
5937

Clor at Brixton The Windmill, Lambeth, Fri 23 Apr

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound's Albums of the Year 2025

  • 106149
  • news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145

    news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143
  • news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141

    news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139
  • Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
MORE


    review


    Jessie J - Who You Are

  • 67447
  • feature


    Battles: Tyondai Braxton talks Mirrored

  • 22473

    Interview


    Travis: Album by Album with Fran Healy

  • 91230
  • feature


    DiS meets Pretty Girls Make Graves

  • 14541

    Interview


    DiS meets Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy W...

  • 96470
  • feature


    Conversing with myself and another: DiS meets F...

  • 49768

    Interview


    "I wouldn't want to go on tour just playing old...

  • 95814
  • Interview


    Going Elemental: DiS Meets Sharon Van Etten

  • 106002
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND