Fair play to Drive By Argument: in an overcrowded alternative rock market-place, they have tried to add a dance-floor swagger to their jittery new wave. Announcing themselves on ‘The Sega Method’ with a intense caffeinated rush, they avoid settling into a groove for the whole album, skittering instead between angst-ridden anthems and more techno-influenced rockers.
‘Dance Like No One’s Watching You’ grafts a fierce old school synth riff onto a punky back-beat; How The Trees Sleep overcomes the obscure lyrics to generate a dreary melancholy that stays on the right side of maudlin; ‘Sex Lines are Expensive Comedy’ has a sort of youthful rage against the machine thrust. Vocalist Stoke sounds as tired and frustrated as his namesake city, while the twin guitars battle his aggressive keyboard hooks. Rarely does the pace drop- this has the feel of a faithfully recorded live set: the odd slow number breaks up the energy but rarely the mood.
Their disparate influences- the PR sheet lists a cornucopia of unconnected artists- are comfortably melded into a single recognisable sound- not quite predictable, and never betraying the original inspiration. The force of each song does not allow much in the way of deep emotion: the feel is more exhaustion than poignancy. Drive-By Argument are pushed onwards by anguish, a yearning that lifts their pop above mere dance-floor fodder.
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