Park Drive
Britpop Return?
2025 was the year I discovered Pastel and Park Drive, and really started getting into High Vis as an avid fan. All in all, it was a great year for British music. Now, what can I say about Park Drive? I dare say these lads drank from the “Definitely Maybe” fountain to exhaustion. Not a vulgar copycat, but a beautiful homage. Can we look at it as an homage? Probably not, but it is, without a doubt, an amazing work by these lads from Wickford, Essex. Their sound is the perfect bridge between my 90ies, with all the Britpop phenomenon, and XXI century British melodies.
Park Drive feels like the piece that connects both eras! They sound British as hell, and that is something that always gets me going. I love Oasis. I truly love Oasis. Not the best band ever, but the most meaningful band for me, a life changing band, no doubt, and I have always been on the lookout for bands that sounded like them without being clones, no personality or essence. These guys could fit up on any football terrace or at any stage in the UK, d’you know what I mean? The look like us, talk like us, they wear the Samba and the hairdo, and that is special in my eyes. That triggers teenage memories, hits all the nerves and explodes. Reminiscing about the first times I heard Oasis on MTV, and how it struck me.
Fast forward to 2025, and I find Park Drive. It could not be better than this. You know, for a while I thought the Arctic Monkeys could be the torchbearer of British Rock n’ Roll; however, they stopped playing Rock n’ Roll and evolved into something else, that still sounded interesting, just not my cup of tea… or pint of Guiness. And British Rock n’ Roll is so different from the USA version, it is much more enrooted into the streets and the working-class neighbourhoods, the football stadiums and the pubs! It feels like an extension of oneself! Hey, USA Rock n’ Roll is not bad, simply different. Britain has Soul. I first heard of Park Drive with “Chase”, and man… Oasis all over it. Again, not stealing, as people could claim; influenced, straight influence. The guitars sound like Noel on a good day. The first few verses… dear lord! Oasis all over it, but in an amazing way, not in a “let us do it like this; people will love it” way. They sound utterly legit.
And where they sound different is the groove they put into the track. It has a groove that I do not know if I would ever find in Oasis. It is the more contemporary side of their music, perhaps. From there in jump into “All My Time”, and even the bloody artwork oozes B-Sides Oasis. We are not worthy; we are not worthy! Oh, shite. This is delicate and heavy. The vocals are just perfect: rough on the edges and melodic just enough to give the music light and life. Hear what I say: these lads have a future in the music scene.
“Follow Me”, “Stone Cold”, “The Belmont”, “All My Time” and “Chase”,
these are the tracks that are out there, waiting for people to listen to them,
to absorb them, to praise them as they truly deserve. It seems the 18th of the
present month will be the day that they officially release their album and
cannot wait to see people’s reaction to it.
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