Ross and Rocky Lynch make up The Driver Era. Their first album in over two years, Girlfriend, is explosive and catchy and their most sonically diverse body of work yet.
“It’s pretty lax; we only work when we feel inspired to,” they share of their creative process. “We’re not really schedule guys. We feel inspired at least once a day to create music. We work as we live and document what’s happening in our lives.”
Everyone gets started differently on a song but for the duo, Rocky sometimes is in the studio on his own, so he usually has a bunch of tracks produced or he’d be playing some sort of instrument or a voice memo and sample it. Their favorite way to create a song is an instantaneous session. “We’re both in the studio and we play together and a song comes from that,” Ross says.
The track “cray z babe e” is a standout with the beginning chords giving off Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” vibes. Those chords were not done on purpose but whenever you feature a pulse piano with major 7s it does give that vibe. “Because we’re so often times nontraditional with our pocket choices, starting a song with a pulse piano is a nice starting place because I know we’re about to fuck it up,” Ross explains.
If there was one word to describe the whole experience creating Girlfriend, it would be committed and a term coined by Rocky — “fauuuukk” — which he said is pretty accurate.
Out of the 15-track effort, “Heaven Angel” was a favorite to work on according to Rocky, along with “#1 Fan.”
Photo: Samuel Fisher / PressThe duality of this record is what makes it the most unique body of work they’ve released yet. The duo are known for being experimental with their sound, and if there’s one genre they haven’t touched yet that they’d love to test the waters in, it would be trap music. “I know that sounds crazy, but I’m a huge XXXTENTACION fan,” Ross says. “Maybe it’s not even so much trap but it’s more rap. I guess on my side of it, ” Rocky further explains.
The Driver Era centers their heart and soul into the work they create and that’s what they hope listeners take away after listening to Girlfriend.
As live shows are coming back in full swing, the brothers are more than amped to tour the new record starting in November with dates extending until May 2022. Fans can expect to have a good time, good music, good vibes, and good people. Ross suggests that concertgoers should wear something cute but comfortable with Rocky stating they should follow the three Cs: cute, comfortable, and classy.
Their goals for the rest of 2021 include hopefully having a hit song on the charts and putting another body of work out before they hit the road.
Essentially, the new album features a side to The Driver Era that fans and listeners alike have yet to experience with previous releases in the past. It ranges from alternative to pop to hip-hop and R&B. The genuine duo has a long, fruitful career ahead of them and we cannot wait to see them thrive even further.