Sunset Drive

Sunset Drive’s origins are in Japan and New Zealand, and by all accounts they have gone down a storm in their respective homelands. And so it’s the UK’s turn to see what all the fuss is about.

We’ve Got To Talk gets the EP off to a solid if unspectacular start. It’s basic indie/pop formula will be very familiar to most listeners. Thirty seconds in to the lite garage of Carry Me and, again, many will be able to predict the course of this song. Give You What You Want should be a jaunty pop song but just sounds so laboured.

Kimini Aini Kitanowa is a bit more like it: short, sharp, power pop, displaying an energy sorely missing in the previous songs. Touch You rounds things off, and while there’s more of a fizz about it, it still sounds as if they are loafing.

Apart from the complete lack of originality - which can be forgiven - there’s a palpable lack of energy about the bands performance. That’s exacerbated by Alastair Roger’s drawl, which acts like a wet blanket over the whole EP. Whoever mentioned this band in the same breath as The Stooges is wrong, and is badly misleading Sunset Drive too.