Driver Drive Faster (guest review by @thelawes)

Date:  Wednesday 22nd June

Venue:  The Shacklewell Arms, Dalston E8

Review and photos by @thelawes

The South Manchester suburb of Chorlton is, oddly, as a long-time London dweller and southerner through and through, somewhere I’m reasonably familiar with. In various circles it is probably best known for being the home of The Stone Roses, or even the place where Chorlton and the Wheelies was made, but my experience of it is entirely due to a past obsession with the Unicorn Grocery (Google it, it’s ace!) and nothing to do with its growing reputation as a cultural hotspot.

One of the best things to have emerged from Chorlton in recent times is Driver Drive Faster, who grew out of the remains of another Manchester band, Polytechnic, who themselves made a decent album, ‘Down Til Dawn’, in 2007. Last Wednesday night, the band played a free show at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston to launch their debut album, ‘Open House’, released digitally last year but now receiving a welcome physical release.

Arriving to find a completely empty venue was not a promising start but the discovery of the beer garden revealed a sizable group of people, including the band; clearly this was going to be a relaxed affair. By the time the thoroughly decent support act had finished (name, anyone?), the room had filled nicely, although for a band who have enjoyed a fair amount of airplay on BBC 6 Music evening radio (Marc Riley is a big fan) one can’t help thinking it should have been fuller.

The potentially inharmonious elements of jangling indie guitars, distinctively motorik rhythms, delicate piano-based melodies, a smattering of Americana, and a slightly fey, ethereal vocal style combine to good effect in Driver Drive Faster and the new record is packed with tunes: recent single ‘It’s All Over It’s Everywhere’, ‘They May Talk’, and ‘Gravel Dents’ are all lovely, whilst the sublime ‘Can’t Afford To rely On Fate’ is about as beautifully mournful a tune as you’ll hear anywhere this year. ‘Don’t Fall Apart’ has Teenage Fanclub written all over it (anyone who knows me will know that I think this is A Good Thing). Live, all this translates effectively into something very charming indeed. This is exactly the kind of show that I like – a brilliant band in the back room of a pub that leaves you wondering why they’re not already playing in a much less modest venue. Highly recommended.