Quietdrive is a very productive band and since 2002 managed to release five albums and six ep's. They have also been signed to both Epic Records and The Militia Group, but has since 2009 their own independent label Sneaker 2 Bombs.
Like the idea of this album that started as a fundraising project on Kickstarter, ie. the fans helped to finance the project. They were also to influence the content, as this is a cover album where fans got to vote for the tracks to be on it. A bit risky, one might think, but fans seem to have good taste, as most of the tracks are of high quality.
Is normally no fan of cover songs, but find that half of the tracks here are very nice with new energy and cool ideas from the band. Toto's "Africa" is a favorite with a nice punk / pop edge that makes it fresh and fun. Even Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain" and Kansas "Carry On My Wayward Son "are songs that I will come back several times as the Peter Gabriel tune "In Your Eyes".
A tracks that I could have lived without is Wiz Khalifa's "No Sleep" not at all fit with its rap edge. The same applies to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" where the band made it to a strange punk honky-tonk track that does not work at all.
But overall, it is catchy and fun record that you should check up on you like what the band have done before.
Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol has a side project called The Reindeer Section, a supergroup comprising members of famous Scottish bands including Astrid, Belle & Sebastian, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai. They have released two albums to date on the Belfast label Bright Star.
