TIME SPENT DRIVING “Just Enough Bright”
I had heard this band for the first time only recently on the Emo Diaries Volume 7 compilation and was quite impressed. I didn’t follow up on them though, and when this arrived in the mail, I was merely “ho-hum” about it. It didn’t take long though for TIME SPENT DRIVING to knock me off my feet. “Just Bright Enough” is a sharp mix of modern melodic post-hardcore and emo with a cheesecake thick sound and standout vocals. One comparison that continues to come up in my head is HEY MERCEDES, and I’m sure that is partly due the similar production style on both band’s releases, courtesy of J. Robbins. I love the way the drum kick-pedal is recorded on here, with a booming, confident sound – it compliments the weighty guitar chords and soaring, non-screechy vocals. This disc builds up with tension as it goes by, mostly until track seven (“Your Abrasion”), when the guitars just smolder in a semi-crunchy state, reminding me of QUICKSAND or BRANDTSON. Lyrically, this band is just as tight with their words as their music. Thoughtful, dark analogies, and metaphorical phrases fill up each song, never wandering into the realm of false emotion or limp attempts to convey pain. Finally, the artwork on “Just Bright Enough” is very sharp looking and rounds out the “well-done” feeling of this disc. While it may seem like there’s no shortage of bands now finding this style of music, TIME SPENT DRIVING make most of their contemporaries pale in comparison.
Sessions
