Furthest Drive Home recently featured on a Drive Thru Records compilation alongside Echofreddy and The Maple State, becoming the first UK bands to do so, which is a massive achievement for any young band. While I never really thought their older recorded material was anything special, the DTR guys and gals clearly thought differently. This EP shows why they had that faith in them - it's very, very, very close in sound to a number of Drive Thru/Rushmore bands. At times they sound like The Starting Line or Houston Calls, at others it's more HelloGoodbye. And while I appreciate those bands are popular and easy influences, where I think FDH fall down is that they don't sound like a mix of these bands, they simply sound like one of them on track one, a different one on two and so on. It smacks of a band with an identity crisis, rather than one that knows exactly where they want to go.
Don't get me wrong, the three tracks here are of a good standard, bordering on very good. The first song (I don't have song names, sorry!) is arguably the best, but the band have reasonable song structures and a vocalist that has a decent, although terribly Americanised, voice. It does suit the band's sound though, so I can't really complain. The production is slick and the guitars and keys are seemingly in the right place. However, being really picky the songs lack a real killer hook. And that's why the bands on Rushmore/DTR are bigger and better. It's a songwriting trait that bands develop in time, but if you're going to play this kind of music you really need to have people singing along and have songs that get stuck inside your head all day long. While track one has the potential to do that, the latter two really don't have the same impact on me.
There's no doubt FDH are good at what they do - certainly better than most UK bands at this style - but they're a way off the American peers they're so obviously influenced by. By working on their choruses and making their songs even more catchy, they'll certainly catch the ears and eyes of many people along the way. Ones to watch, even if they're not quite there yet.
www.furthestdrivehome.tk
Paul
