Getaway Driver

Sparkling Pistol EP
(2002, Independent)
Local Artist

By: Scott Horn (Lawrencerock.com Revews Editor)

Lawrence is a great town for me. It has many of the cultural elements associated with big cities, without all the drawbacks of living in a big city. An important part of this is Lawrence’s vibrant local music scene. One of the up and coming local bands is Getaway Driver, who just recently released their first EP, Sparkling Pistol. It features super cool artwork by their drummer, Tom. They’re hand numbered and the discs are all individually letter pressed. The original press of 50 CDs is almost gone, so if you enjoy Getaway Driver, go to their next show and grab one of the few remaining copies. It will raise your hip factor by about 5000. Here’s why.

Besides its cool look and nifty collector’s value, the CD also contains five songs of good, solid rock action. The songs have great pop hooks that you’ll soon be singing in the shower, even though you don’t know the words. Generally, I am not overly impressed with music that achieves “catchy tune” status. Granted, I sometimes find myself singing even radio jingles in the shower. That doesn’t mean I think they’re musically great. Thankfully, Getaway Driver’s songs surpass that category.

First and foremost, the songs don’t follow the traditional verse-chorus-verse structure that too many bands submit to. Instead, they follow a freer, more non-linear structure. The guitars are often dissonant, creating a rich texture. This is most notable on the track “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures.” The vocals are excellent – complete with harmony, beautiful pop crooning, speaking in tune, and screaming. Each song progresses through several stages of development, keeping fickle listeners like myself interested. The EP forgoes the obligatory ballad; instead, the songs all just tend to shift from fast to slow to fast within themselves.
“Something to Do” and “Eyeswornout” are the pop hits on the album, although I think “Desperate Times…” is their strongest song. “Centennial” is a good, short song that brings the noise guitar. Closing track “Next Week; Maybe” is the band’s closest brush with a sad sappy bastard song.

The whole EP, especially “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures,” reminds me a lot of Cap’n’Jazz, whom I can’t help but feel had a bit of an influence on the band. That familiar tapping on the rim of the drums, oh yes… For those of you who insist on name dropping, Getaway Driver also sounds a bit like the Faint circa 1998. The similarities end with the Faint’s first album, Media, although I think Steve would look great in black clothes and eyeliner – who knows what direction they might go in?

Normally, I have a lot to say about song lyrics. However, since ‘Sparkling Pistol’ doesn’t include a lyric sheet and I haven’t entirely deciphered what they’re singing, I’d rather remain silent on this subject than grossly misquote anyone. I can say that the lyrics are relationship-oriented while managing to avoid most of those high school poetry pitfalls. My only complaint is that I wish the EP could have captured more of the frenzy of Getaway Driver’s live shows. The songs are more polished, and hence lack some of the fierce intensity of their live performances.

Although, it’s obvious that I’m a pretty strong advocate of Getaway Driver, this is far from a shameless plug. They’re not for everyone, but for those of you who like music that walks the thin line between pop rock (Jimmy Eat World) and more experimental (June of ’44) music should dig them. And if you live in the Lawrence area, by God check out their next show. They’re always well worth it.