a bit preachy, but lives up to its name

Sunday Drive (Brentwood)

Sunday Drive

By Victoria Moon

This is a refreshing project that manages to balance edgy modern rock with a message of pure hope, and does this rather difficult task while throwing out hook after pure-pop hook.

Lyrically, Sunday Drive is more polished and professional than many other albums that fall into this genre, and this is generally a good thing, except when the lyrics start to preach a bit more than they share. An example of this is the song "God Is Believable," which reads like a modern day dysfunctional stereotype.

The nicest thing about their lyrics is the unflinching look they take at the world, laughing in its face and finding the beauty of God's love in the midst of it. This is "happy music", and songs like "Sacred Delight" are celebrations of joy that are kept from saccharine by the solid rock of the music and the cockeyed, defiant optimism that comes through on the vocals, which the whole band has a part in. There is a slickness to the production and vocal stylings, but the album is kept from CCM pop mindlessness by driving rhythms and guitars.

At times this project reminded me a bit of Third Day, other times of PFR. Though the band really does not break any new ground musically, their name is very indicative of their sound - a band that is perfect for turning up to an ear-splitting volume while out on the open road for a Sunday afternoon drive on a warm, sunny day.