Review and Photos by Vanessa Markov- LITHIUM MAGAZINE
July 26, 2010
Drive Faster at Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto - Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
Female-fronted bands are no longer few and far between in this city; they’re everywhere. I’ll be completely honest in saying that I find a lot of female vocalists don’t fit the dynamic of their band’s music (and vice versa), which generally results in awkward, incomplete sounding songs. Last Thursday, I checked out Drive Faster’s CD Release show at Horseshoe and was genuinely relieved – this band works.
Whatever Angela Saini is doing, she’s doing it right. Her attitude, style, body language and voice are so classy and feminine, yet so rock star at the same time. She reminds me of Madonna in all her 80’s vogue glory – the kind that seems to be creeping into modern pop culture lately. This is a massive asset that, with lots of emphasis, would really work for this band. It’s already working.
Angela’s image combined with Drive Faster’s electro-pop rock sound produces a fresh and promising musical package. Rhythm seekers won’t be disappointed with their catchy and upbeat riffs filled in with modern pop synth. It’s the kind of music that only takes one or two listens to catch the groove regardless of whether or not it was your intention.
Review by Kristen Jones - OFF THE DIAL
July 24, 2010
This past Thursday, Drive Faster celebrated their new album titled Frame of Mind, with a CD release party at The Legendary Horeshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario. The band called it “…an evening to remember”, on their website and thanked everyone who came to the show.
Drive Faster, with Lead Singer Angela Elizabeth (Saini), Guitarist Tony Gare, Drummer Michael Holbrook and Bassist Jon Marck, was previously known as Supernal.
After relocating to Toronto from Calgary the band decided they needed a new image to go along with the new city.
They transformed their naturally high energy into catchy and energetic electro-rock songs, with a faster pace and vibe than in their previous efforts. Drive Faster made its official debut at Canadian Music Week 2009.
The band quickly gained a loyal fanbase and along the way caught the attention of producers Moe Berg (Pursuit of Happiness) and Lawrence Currie (Sloan, The Cliks). They later worked with the producers at Metalworks Studios to record the song, “Analog”.
Having a strong presence, along with Angela’s vocals and the bands’ sound and style, Drive Faster is most often compared to the Killers or Metric.
Okay, enough about their history, how about their present. Frame of Mind is a solid collection of Indie/Dance/Rock. The band and album both have a lot of potential and promise.
Angela’s extraordinary vocal ability and songwriting skills express a range of different emotions and tell many different stories.
The album is full of memorable songs with catchy choruses. Favourites on this ablum include “Before I Dry”, “Suitcase”, “My Old Self” and the hauntingly beautiful “Raindrop”, a slower extended versioin of “Before I Dry”.
Frame of Mind will be available August 6th on iTunes and Amazon. Follow Drive Faster on the band’s official website www.drivefaster.com and their MySpace and Face Book pages.
