Drift is the debut album from New York's The Road, an exciting band who combine progressive rock, alternative, folk, jazz, and funk influences into a very stimulating sound that should appeal to a variety of listeners. Featuring a musical configuration of guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, lute, viola, cornet, and trumpet, The Road offer up plenty of variety here. "Breathless" sounds like a combination of Asia and Chicago, with rich vocal harmonies, complex guitar lines, and melodic horns, while "All Time" is like a head on collision between Pink Floyd and King Crimson, dreamy yet dissonant, and featuring a wonderful classical guitar outro. The rootsy "Requiem" shows the band's alternative sensibilities, and they show off a funky, jazzy side on the uptempo "Someone Like Me". Weaving guitar patterns and yearning trumpet punctuate the dreamy title track, crunchy hard rock rears its head on the muscular "Fly Away", and the band pulls out some interesting progressive folk on the charming "Dog and the Vampire". I'm again reminded of the symphonic pop/prog- rock of Asia on "The Gift", a song that also has a slight mid-80's Rush feel with plenty of synths, clever drum rhythms, and tasty guitar solos. Greg Wilson's vocals are passionate throughout, and on "Bipolar" he puts in a great performance amidst moments of dark melancholy and bruising hard rock.
In short, this is a fun debut from a talented little band from New York that are really trying something different. With an assortment of musical styles brought to the table, this is a tasty buffet for listeners who like a lot of variety in their music.
Track Listing
1) Breathless
2) All Time
3) Requiem
4) Someone Like Me
5) Drift
6) Fly Away
7) One Small Kindness
8) Dog and the Vampire
9) The Gift
10) Bipolar
11) Yellow Wood
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