Artist: Graham Colton Band
Album:Drive
Label: Universal Records
Rating:
Reviewer: Leslie Flynn

The major label debut album from Texas’ Graham Colton Band brings to mind previous works by other pop rock bands. Never seeming to find their own individual sound, Drive spends most of its time fighting to sound like a long lost Goo Goo Dolls’ album. At times the guitar lines sound eerily familiar, as though they were pulled straight from other, better known songs.

“Don’t Give Up On Me” starts off the album covering familiar musical territory as lead singer Colton attempts to sound earnest and begs for the listener to, well, not give up on him. From the very moment it starts off, the guitar line sounds like a slower, derivative version of the guitar riff from the Foo Fighters’ hit “All My Life.” On later songs, such as “Morning Light” and “Sending a Note”, it’s obvious that the band must find inspiration in the music of such other pop artists such as John Mayer and the Goo Goo Dolls.

These uncanny similarities don’t make this a bad album, just one that sounds like it might have been done before by a better, more experienced bad. The songs are catchy, growing on you with each additional listen until you can help but get one of them stuck in your head. “Cigarette,” one of five songs that benefit from the writing experience of Better Than Ezra’s front man Kevin Griffin, has a playful quality to it that allows you to believe that maybe the members of Graham Colton Band aren’t taking themselves as seriously as it seems at first listen. With lyrics such as “You make me wanna smoke a cigarette / You make me wanna be someone else / You make me wanna be someone you would leave / And I could forget”, it’s easier to go back to earlier songs and see the humor hiding between what sounds like sophomoric of a song like “Since You Broke It.”

Written completely by Colton, “All The World Tonight” holds more potential than the rest, showing that it might have been better if Colton had remained a solo artist. Starting out with sparse instrumentation, it doesn’t sound like it’s already been done before and the lyrics have more depth to them, choosing to focus on lost innocence rather than lost love. The loneliness drips from his voice, yet never becomes overbearing. The guitar solo towards the end, growing along with the other instrumentations, showcases a talent that is otherwise ignored.

Overall, Drive holds a potential for the Graham Colton Band to grow beyond this seemingly copycat album that, while not being bad, could allow them to make a name for themselves with more original material. Despite appearing at first listen to be the long lost album from a number of big name bands, the songs are catchy and Colton has a melodic, sweet voice that will make some girls swoon, giving them all the tools they need to fit in with the other acoustic singer-songwriters flooding the market.