Daylight Is Coming
Artist: Remedy Drive
Label: Word Records
Length: 11 Tracks / 34:40

If there's one thing this world has a shortage of, it's piano pop-rock bands - specifically, good ones. For all the Switchfoots and Coldplays out there, there's 100 million other bands I won't dignify by naming who fill radio airwaves with the most inane drivel. Remedy Drive is, for lack of a simpler way to introduce them, none of the above... exactly. Remedy Drive is more like what happens when you pump your stereo so full of the aforementioned Coldplay and Switchfoot that it starts to pour out this kind of gelatinous, filial harmony. 

All of which is to say... it takes something special to be an unsigned, independent band for ten years. This is what Remedy Drive did, mostly under the name "Remedy", and prior to that, "The Aslan Band". Blessedly, they tagged a "Drive" on the end of "Remedy" and avoided future confusion as a David Crowder Band record. I'm not even gonna touch "The Aslan Band"... yikes.

Remedy Drive is four brothers. They harmonize well. They play their instruments well. The brother who does lead vocals sounds like a rather direct cross between Coldplay's Chris Martin and Switchfoot's Jon Foreman. Quite direct. In fact, when I first heard Remedy Drive, my immediate thought was that it must be a Switchfoot side-project (not that Jon Foreman doesn't have his hands full). I was surprised to learn that no, it wasn't Switchfoot and no, it wasn't Coldplay either. I was intrigued.

I went from intrigued to quite interested when I found out that their final independently released disc, 2006's _Rip Open The Skies_ sold over 20,000 copies.

Daylight Is Coming is Remedy Drive's first album as a signed band. It shows. The production is clean and doesn't get much in the way of the sound, the harmonies, the essence of what they were up to. Thus, they avoided the "first-time we have a budget" blues which are known to be caused by over-production and losing your vocals and instruments in 800 pounds of sonic effects. Put more simply, the production is clean, fitting, and draws attention to all the bright and enjoyable moments the record has to offer.

Musically, Remedy Drive is about what you'd expect from a genetic mishmash of Coldplay and Switchfoot: lovely piano, lovely singing, and best of all, lovely harmonies that are made all the more glistening because of the foursome's family ties - they all have similar voices, so uniting them results in the kind of harmonious cascade that only genetics can produce. It's a beautiful thing, and because they couple it with ten years of songwriting experience, it has plenty of opportunity to shine.

The only real downside to the record is lyrical. 

First, the positive: the lyrics are hope-permeated, uplifting, and center around the ideas of rebirth, salvation, and regeneration (a stark example is the stellar track "Heartbeat"). 

Second, the criticism: There's not a lot of lyrics - many of the songs have fewer than 15 lines, most of which are short lines. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, however one of the challenges which that kind of approach poses is that you need to say a lot, meaningfully, in just a little space. I didn't really feel that they were up to that challenge, and I felt as though the lyrics were very straightforward, and at times they seemed very much like I had heard them somewhere before (cliché, perhaps?).

Try this on for size:

All of my castles in the sand - washed away again
And I’m left back where I began tonight
The only thing that can ever fill me up
Has been right in front of me all the time
(from "All Along")

In the same vein, quite a few of the songs clock in at under 3 minutes... consequently the 11-song album clocks in at just over 30 minutes - quite short even by pop-rock standards. By means of comparison, Coldplay's recent and critically acclaimed 11-track _Viva La Vida_ came in at 50 minutes and Switchfoot's latest, Oh, Gravity, clocked in at 12 tracks and 45 minutes of playtime. Put in contrast like that, and taking into account the shortness of the lyrics, it's hard to miss. You really begin to notice that the songs are mostly chorus (generally a fault of dodgy pop-rock) and that they're over just when you're starting to feel them.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the best song on the record is "Heartbeat," which sports the longest verses as well as (in my opinion) the best writing on the album. Further, it captures Remedy Drive at their strongest...  the album is full of vagueries and generic talk, and when the lyrics really develop there's actually a lot to chew on; it just doesn't happen often enough. It also has a really great refrain involving some "oh oh oh" back-and-forth harmonizing-slash-chanting that really hits the spot.

So, what can I say? Musically, Remedy Drive hit the jackpot. Although they sport a tonne of feel-good Switchfoot and Coldplay likeness, those bands are rightfully acclaimed for their excellence and so to be compared to them is definitely a strength and not a weakness. The music is crisp, sharp, clean, clear, harmonious, and masterfully executed. The lyrical content is minimalist and often falls short of really developing the ideas and the themes of the record. That said, when they really apply themselves, the lyrics are more than just listenable, they're excellent.

If this was Remedy Drive's debut, I'd be saying they're full of promise and heading in the right direction. 

However, since they're old indie stalwarts, my advice is this: 

Invest more time in writing your lyrics and developing your songs so that they're not all over before they begin and aren't mostly chorus. Your music, harmonies, instrumentation, and production all hit the mark, but your content is sorely lacking. Man up and write us a remarkable, meaningful, and well-thought-out sophomore label record and we'll crown you part of the pop-rock trifecta.

By way of conclusion, I submit this to you, dear reader: This is a great album. My wife LOVES this album. It's a dissapointing album, when I consider the potential the band has to deliver something downright PERFECT... but it's great nonetheless. If you're into pop and rock and you're a big fan of Switchfoot and Coldplay and singing along with wonderful harmonies and great instrumentation... you'll really, really dig _Daylight Is Coming_. Get it, love it, and join me in hoping that they hone their text-crafting skills and beef up their quantity for the next go 'round.

Standout Tracks: Heartbeat, Something Made To Last.

Jerry Bolton 
http://bloodletting.blogspot.com
November 2, 2008