Tree View Drive - Places You Forget (Independent)
It was Ian Brown who ebulliently quipped 'it's not where you're from, it's where you're at' when he feared The Stone Roses being pigeon-holed as just another insular Manchester band who lacked global appeal. And while this driving statement of ambition is wholly admirable, sometimes - whether through fault or design - it's impossible to escape your roots.

Take new Miami indie outfit, Yew Tree Drive. After sliding their debut offering Places You Forget into the CD drive the sound emanating was anything other than the sun-soaked, jangly-pop you would associate emerging from the Sunshine State. It's not until you dig a little deeper though that things make sense, as the band's moniker is in fact garnered from the suburban New York road frontman Josh Manes grew up in. A location Manes, who also plays guitar for the trio, says is "the place where I felt centred, emotionally and creatively." And boy does it show, as Places You Forget is positively a product of the East Coast environment he was raised in.

Unfortunately, alas this is where it falls down too. As, musically tracks like jagged opener “Quiet Town” and the contemplative “Winter” are just as unremarkable and unassuming as the road he kicked about on as youth. It's a shame too, as lyrically, he weaves beguiling yarns of homesickness, isolation, loss and nostalgia, which deserve to be heard. Unfortunately, the sub-standard, Bloc Party-lite music, which soundtracks his words is just not up to scratch.
www.myspace.com/treeviewdrive
Lawrence P.

TREE VIEW DRIVE - QUIET TOWN

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