DriveblindDriveblindGeffen RecordsOne-third out of five stars
Geffen Records, which catapulted Nirvana into the mainstream music scene (causing a rare and interesting phenomenon: popular mainstream music equals artful and good music), has lost its touch.
After gaining a bit of a following in Scotland, Driveblind jumped the pond to perform in New York and Los Angeles and establish the all-important American fan base. It was the band’s weekend sets in the Viper Room, however, that landed it a spot on Geffen Records’ roster.
Giving the band’s self-titled album a listen is no different from listening to a horrible amalgamation of all the “alternative” musicians who asked Steve Albini to make them sound like Nirvana.
I’d encourage Driveblind to heed Albini’s retort to nothing bands wanting to copy Nirvana’s sound — if you want to sound like Nirvana, write songs as good as Kurt Cobain’s.
Of course, I’d also have to tell Driveblind that Creed was a mistake that never should have happened, you’re not the Black Crows and please stop.
Listening to all of Driveblind‘s 12 songs is difficult and, what’s worse, an embarrassment not only for the band members, but for anyone who listens to it.
It’s a damn shame that Scotland, which gave the world the priceless gift of such bands as The Vaselines and Belle and Sebastian, could also export such a talentless group of sods to Los Angeles — a city that is already enveloped by a smog of smut.
Driveblind’s only appeal that I can see is that it provides one more album for audiophiles who like the band’s sound — not to mention all the other bands that sound like them and each other only.
Congratulations.