Words: Lindsay Bradley
It is coming up to ten
years since the fateful Oceanic flight 815 crash, with Drive Shaft bassist
Charlie Pace on board. Since then, Drive Shaft has released a greatest hits
album and a tour to accompany it. Everyone seems to have fond memories of the
band, yet very few were actually part of it.
The Manchester band shot to
fame in 2000 with their radio friendly hit 'You
All Everybody' taken from their moderately successful self-titled debut. Two
years later, they released their second album Oil Change with very little fanfare. In fact, very little was
mentioned of the album and it was not until I was looking through Poundland
that I saw the album on sale. It was only a pound and I was bored. Since the
plane crash a few writers like myself, decided to revisit the album. Spin.com
has actually compared the album to Weezer’s Pinkerton
as a ‘lost classic’. No pressure
then lads.
From hearing the first
notes of the opening track ‘Vent’, I knew I had made a terrible mistake. Lead
singer Liam attempts to croon sorrowfully with hardly the most imaginative
lyrics, ‘Well I fell into a terrible lie / It seems my life was passing me by’.
It was only the first song yet I already wanted to commit murder (half-kidding).
Through perseverance, it
does get slightly better; ‘Ask me
Again’ provides an indie-pop outlook to the Hollywood life. The catchy guitar
hook teamed with the relentless percussion carried the lyrics well. ‘The door
revolves, you’ve got to spin.’ This lyric signifies Drive Shaft’s short-lived
career. It might have been a hit for the radio, but it was not meant to be.
The final track ‘Last Call’
should have been a poignant close to the album. Hearing Liam and Charlie sing
‘I wanna go home now’ is somewhat emotional, but I imagine hearing it back
twelve years ago would have been painful for all the wrong reasons. There is
nothing more displeasing than hearing grown men wail and attempt to imitate
Chris Cornell and fail miserably.
The album could have been
worse - Drive Shaft no longer sounds like a cheap copy of Oasis. It is clear
that they had tried to come up with a new sound but by this point, it was too
late. Drive Shaft will forever be remembered as one-hit wonders thanks to ‘You
All Everybody’.
Digging through the past
can sometimes unearth gems, but in the case of Oil Change, some things should just stay buried.
Oxford Road Rating: ★
Why did Oasis never sue for this blatant rip off?
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