Driving is a funk driven, lovely sounding song; the keys have a sweet bit of character to them, as does the subtle, fairly jazz-like beat, and more importantly – that vocal just oozes personality. It’s a song that more than appropriately makes you want to go out for a drive.
As you get more into it, the music branches out; the instruments take on a little life of their own and add some great sounding flair and positive vibes to the music. The keys get a great array of riffs throughout, melodically – really strong muscianship, the effected keys get a riff, a solo even, there seems to be what sounds like a cowbell at one point; the jazz band vibe just shines out from every angle.
There could probably be even more of this, it feels like there’s a lot of room in the track, a lot of space in which even more could happen. Bringing some bass out into the front of the mix might have bulked it out a little. Having said that though, it sounds like a personal performance, in that everything is able to played in a very simple and intimate setting, which is a pretty good quality in itself, plus it highlights the artist as a skilled and able singer and performer. Perhaps a big band big beat remix would be impressive as a side project.
In terms of the writing, it’s a great song. The character of the vocal is so unique that the melody and the lyrics kind of take a back seat, but when you do catch them, they get hold of you quite quickly – particularly the melody; it’s catchy, memorable, easy to listen to, and has that smooth jazz vibe to it that makes you really want to move your shoulders or tap your feet or show some sort of inclination to move with the music, right there in your spot. Good vibes all round.
By Rebecca Cullen
