THE DRIVER ERA, consisting of brothers Rocky and Ross Lynch, released their newest album, “Obsession” on April 11. As their fourth studio album, it hits around 30 minutes with 11 tracks, including seven pre-released pieces. The brothers are both individual artists who came together to create more music within their group. Under the record labels BMG and TOO Records, the band has been creating music under the name since 2018 as an alternative/indie band, almost reaching 1.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
The album starts off with “You Keep Me Up At Night,” taking their alternative sound into the track with a perfectly paired bass guitar melody. It has a really bouncy rhythm and the album hits the ground running with their original style.
A level of doubt with the lyrics,“But never did I think it could go / This far, but here we are,” blends into their theme with the start of a new relationship being the focal point of this track. The song finishes with a peel-off from the bass guitar.
Taking a turn in the album, they create a more traditional band feel with “The Weekend.” The track features Fern, an up-and-coming artist. Her voice blends beautifully with the duo’s current vibe. The track has a more pop-rock flair with a heavy reliance on the guitar. Ross and Fern’s voices complement each other beautifully in slowed sections as well as when the tempo picks back up.
A simpler track on the album, “Nothing Left To Lose,” brings in the structure of funky chords with a mix of jazz at the start. With lyrics “We’re only getting started / Just got to your apartment,” they create a track that connects well with the start of a new relationship where people can have fun without worries.
They create perfect glissandos in their vocal arrangements on this track, changing the whole ambience into a longing and wishful song. Just past the two-minute mark, it takes a shift towards a more techno sound while still keeping the beat. The track reaches its peak with the lyrics “I can’t lose you baby,” which leads into an amazing transition towards the end.
After a Harry Styles-esque song with “Don’t Take The Night,” they change over into “I’d Rather Die,” a shorter single on the album. Starting off with a choir feel until a cut off right into straight dialogue, before going straight back into lyrics. The plunking on a keyboard turns into chords after the buildup with harmonies.
As a very vocally centered track, the drums keep the song locked on tempo. They take on eerie minor tones towards the middle of the track but then turn right back around into the chorus, “If I can’t have you / I’d rather die.” The song paints the moment when someone doesn’t want to lose their partner, almost to the point of obsession.
With an overall echoey sound, “Can’t Believe She Got Away” brings back the duo’s tonality from the middle of the album. The moment the lyrics “I can’t believe she got away” are sung, the whole rhythm and feel of the song changes into a powerful sound until it breaks into a vocal and instrumental break. Only right before taking one of the many slow dives into the distanced sound again.
The song has multiple dragged portions with a prominent guitar melody. With the beautiful instrumentation and upbeat sound, it can be hard for listeners to pick up the underlying message in the uncertainty in the lyrics, “I wish I knew how / How to love you like you want me to.”
A twist to the album, “Everybody’s Lover,” opens up about a non-loyal relationship with the feeling of having to share someone with other people. Ross Lynch sings coveys how even when warned, people will stay in a relationship, even when it’s not working out with lyrics, “Now all my friends are saying ‘Told you she ain’t loyal / You should walk away.’” Despite the rest of the album being about spontaneous or long-lasting relationships, this piece mixes heartbreak and betrayal into their unique sound with sullen lyrics. The song ends with a bold guitar solo fading into nothing.
The final song, “Better,” brings the high energy of the album back in full swing. With the same melody underneath Lynch’s lyrics, “I’m getting better, better” repeats a lot along with the vocal stim “Bada, bing, bada, boom, bada, bop.” The Lynch brothers wrap up the album with their synth-pop feel, leaving listeners on a high note that completes the album.
The brothers complete a set of wonderful tracks that listeners can add to their summer playlist with “Obsession.” The two do a beautiful job with covering a spectrum of the many feelings surrounding relationships, ranging from desire to heartbreak. They include a wide variety of variations of their style in their songs but stick to their general area of expertise when it comes to instrumentation and effects.
