Narrow Review - New Single, "Summer Song," by Driveaway

Driveaway

“Summer Song”

Review by Alec Kissoondyal

Gainesville's own Indie-pop band, Driveway, released their newest single, "Summer Song", on February 26. It is available on all platforms, along with a brand new music video. The song plunges listeners into an odyssey of nostalgia and guides them through the lofty highs and dangerous pitfalls of living in bygone memories.

“This song started with a pretty light musical idea but ended up letting me dig deeper into my feelings, and heart, than I ever have with a Driveaway song before,” says Trenton Ropp, Driveaway's vocalist. The depth of the emotions encapsulated in the song can be heard from the very beginning, as the soft cadence of Trenton's vocals ("I wanted to show you/all of the things I've learned to love") melds into the hypnotic rhythm of Kyle Tapley's guitar. As the music builds, Tapley's guitar reverberates with a controlled, yet fevered rhythm reminiscent of a quickening heartbeat as the electric sharpness of old memories resurface. Then, the song explodes with a new energy that is spearheaded by Trenton's raised voice as he proclaims that "It feels like we're closing/and I can't tell you the things we used to say/sunrise, don't sleep/and I just close my eyes and fake the dreams."

The low hum of the bass, played by Tanner Ropp, Trenton's brother, introduces an encroaching sensation of melancholy to the song as the initial burst of energy dies down and Trenton ruminates on the negative aspects of being too attached to the past-- "You're pulling me deeper/I'm feeling your skin on mine/ I'm holding on too tight/you should let me go". For a song that largely focuses on memories of the past, "Summer Song" rides the tide of memory into the present with a modern sound and provides listeners with something that is both honest and relevant to the timeless nature of human experience.