Veteran Dutch desert rockers Drive By Wire celebrated their 10th year by looking back with the re-release of their celebrated 2014 album The Whole Shebang, and looking forward with new opus Spellbound. You’d be hardp-ressed to find desert in the Netherlands, but their easygoing yet brazen riffs under blazing skies may fool you otherwise. Glider comes over all Children Of The Grave with its opening salvo. It’s an out-and-out rocker elevated by vocalist Simone Holsbeek’s powerful charisma, and she carries Mammoth’s bluesy riffing with her darkling swagger as it builds to a crushing close. Her sultry, downbeat emoting on Apollo perfectly complements the reverb-heavy, lackadaisical licks, showcasing the band’s psychedelic tendencies as campfire flames flickering off canyon walls in the pensive night. Drive By Wire steer the stoner course, never reinventing the wheel, but nevertheless delivering an enjoyable ride.
Drive By Wire - Spellbound album review
Blazing desert rock from the sand dunes of… The Netherlands
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