Reviews of our first single "Nice Price Rock And Roll b/w Never Been Sick"

DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY (USA) 06/2003.
In the past, I've found myself enamored with split 7" records, simply because I absolutely love the concept of getting two completely distinctive sounds/styles each on the same record. However, I think this 7" by Disco Drive is the first time I've ever found myself comparing seperate and distinct song tones by the same band on opposite sides of a record.
Disco Drive is a three-piece from Italy, and judging by these two songs, the band rocks pretty hard. "Nice Price Rock and Roll" carries this cool, disjointed, herky-jerky, frantic swagger, like the band just stepped out of a Hives vs. Ex-Models mash-up inspired enough to take over the world. The silly little stop-and-go intro rhythm guitar is just awesome, whether it's sitting alone in the track's open or backing up the full track a minute-and-a-half later, and the band even manages to shake things up creatively by winding the track up with an entertaining vocal and handclap take on the song's chorus. The different elements of "Nice Price" are textured, just in a very jagged sense, giving the track a distinctive edge.
That being said, "Never Been Sick" is a completely different animal - the driving nature of the guitars is still there in full-force, but the track as a whole is much more calm and contained. There are actually two vocal tracks going at the same time, and while they're meant to play off each other, the voices bleed together at times, giving the track a more complex feeling. In a very cool bit, the bass track just wanders off everywhere during the track. The instrumental guitar break is friggin' emo (though I tried hard to find any one of a zillion other ways to describe it), and while that sounds odd, for some reason it works in "Never Been Sick." While this track is just a textured as the A-side, the texturing is done is a much smoother manner, giving this song a completely different tone. The two songs on here are pretty golden, though in all honesty, the difference between the tracks makes it hard to draw out a good estimation of Disco Drive's 'sound.' Still, though, for folks that are into various degrees of catchy guitar stuff, picking up this 7" probably wouldn't be a very bad way to spend a few bucks. (Gary)

JADED TIMES (USA) 09/2003.
Remember the old indie/emo/punk records that paved the way for all the recycled crap we have now? Indian Summer, Boy's Life, Drive Like Jehu, Giant's Chair, etc.; remember the way such records used to sound, before anyone had a blueprint for it? Enter Torino, Italy's Disco Drive, a band with just that type of edge. At moments poppy punk, at moments as art-pop as The Crownhate Ruin on a particularly bitter day, and always surrounded by high calibre drumming, crisp guitars, and energetic vocals, Disco Drive grasp a pop-punk style melded with an east coast hardcore sound. The shift in styles and moods is handled well, moving from palatable upbeat rhythms to enjoyable experimental sounds. Worth checking out.
(Dave Mandell)

NAMELESS WEBZINE (Belgium) 10/2003.
Originaire de Turin, ce trio a tout pour plaire. Adeptes d'un rock tendu, mélodique et assez expéditif, les trois Italiens se rangent facilement aux côtés de Hot Snakes ou autres Sleater-Kinney. Evidemment, deux titres c'est peu, mais c'est suffisant pour attirer l'attention des amateurs du genre. Vivement que l'on se mette quelque chose de plus consistant sous la dent car cet e.p est excellent.

NEWS Spettacolo #461 07/2003.
Innanzitutto, questa è la glorificazione del vero formato del rock’n’roll, il quarantacinque giri (7” per i più sgamati), bello tondo e vinilico, superbo dispensatore di energie da Elvis the Pelvis ai Sex Pistols. Si, i 45 giri escono ancora. E, fortuna nostra, ci sono ancora gruppi eccitanti che li rispettano come meritano. Quindi benvenuti sui due lati dei Disco Drive, già Encore Fou, J Say No, Fichissimi (glorie punk cittadine) e attualmente titolari del brano più eccitante dell’anno. Ovviamente “Nice Price Rock And Roll”, hit punk per attitudine più che per taglio sonoro, in grado di evocare tra uno stacco chitarristico e un battito di mani, nientemeno che Fugazi, Clash, Sleater-Kinney e un’intera gamma di “negritudine” rock. Una vera bomba. Confermata dal lato B di “Never Been Sick”, nervosa come Dischord comanda e all’inseguimento del ritmo perfetto come i caldissimi live dei Disco Drive hanno evidenziato in questi mesi. Non perdeteli allo Spazio 211 insieme ai Cassettes e cercate il giallo/viola della copertina di questo 7”: dentro ci sono due sberle degne dei migliori punk-rockin’ soul boys. (Maurizio Blatto)

OX Fanzine # 53 (Germany) 12/2003.
Im RADIO 4-Fahrwasser befindliche 2-Song 7“ der italienischen DISCO DRIVE (red cars go faster/Flight 13), die sich dabei aber dann doch mehr an GANG OF FOUR orientieren und eine punkigere Stimmung verbreiten. Völlig überzeugend und viel zu schnell vorbei, ich will mehr rockende Songs von denen. (Simon Brüggemann)
This two song 7" from the italian Disco Drive is sailing in the same seas as Radio 4, but they are more Gang Of Four orientated and are more punk. Completely convincing and it’s a shame that it’s only two songs, cause I want more rocking songs from them. (Translation: Frank Salvasohn).

TRUST Fanzine # 106 (Germany) 12/2003.
Merkwürdiges Machwerk aus Italien. Ist irgendwie schwer zu fassen. Sagen wir kleiner Schrabbel-Quer-Pop zwischen verstörten späteren Pere Ubu mit der Leichtigkeit früher Swell Maps Songs, wie wir sie auf „Trip To Marineville“ finden. Entzieht sich jedlicher aktueller Struktur und ist deshalb interessant. Würde glatt ais 1979er Wiederveröffentlichung durchgehen. (Joachim)
Strange release from Italy. It’s somehow hard to get a hold of. Let’s say pop somewhere between the later Pere Ubu and the easiness of early swell maps, like we find them on "trip to marineville". It doesn’t fit to any current musical trend and that’s what makes it interesting. Could also easily be a release from 1979. (Translation: Frank Salvasohn).

(back)