Driving On City Sidewalks
Where Angels Crowd To Listen EP
Count Your Lucky Stars/Red Plane; 2008
The appeal of enjoying the music from a young band like Driving On City Sidewalks is that it allows the listener the opportunity cast aside some cynicism and dream a bit. This young Canadian duo has put together a five-song EP that, while a bit confusing style, still possesses distinctly winsome and engaging qualities. On one hand, Where Angels Crowd To Listen is simply standard post-rock-esque fare full of anthems, arpeggiated chords, crescendos, and big drums with an abundance of cymbals. On the other, the record is swimming with delightful melodies and lyrical content reminiscent of any twenty-something finding the heady idealism of youth battling the world-weary realism of encroaching adulthood. The best tracks on the record are “To Finish The Race” and “Farewell To Knowing It All,” as the former opens the project with the line “You say our cups are filled with purpose; to most it seems they’re fully empty,” while the latter brings everything to a close with a sprawling instrumental track pulsing with energy. With any luck, the band’s debut full-length record that slated for release later in 2009 will find them and their sound growing in the right direction.