The December Drive - Handslikegunsandcrashingsounds
Label: American Jealousy
Style: Post-Hardcore, Indie Rock, Emo
Released: 2003
My Grade: 4 stars
AMG: n/a
Sounds like: Roadside Monument, The Get Up Kids, Blood Brothers

They say that in Texas everything is bigger – bigger homes, bigger skies, bigger roads, bigger hats, bigger fish, bigger trucks – most anything you can dare to think of is bigger in Texas, so they say. So it should come as no surprise when an amazingly talented band, with a big sound suddenly appears from down south – and yet it did surprise.

The December Drive hail from one of the lowest points in Texas, the Rio Grande Valley – the home to cowboys, large hats, and football games that have the ability to cancel any holiday (if it interferes with the game), but not the home for experimental or emo bands…and yet here they are, a glorious band of emo kinds.

This is not the emo that you would find in Hot Topic or on MTV, this band seems to have been brought up oblivious to the corrupting influences that seep into American indie bands during the nineties.

Track number #5 is where the album reaches it zenith – with raw, dueling vocals that could put the Blood Brothers to shame coupled with an attack of guitars, bass and drums into the most angst ridden collision that I have heard in years, and once it reaches the top they all come crashing down on each other in an ear shattering roar, only to be brought back to life for several more seconds of blistering sound, followed by silence.

The remainder of the album continues in the brutal assault on the silence and sound, yet does not seem to build up as strong as the first half. The entire record is a worthy listen for any open-minded music fan, this album seems to be a near perfect example of what indie rock should sound like; and this band seems to be ready for conquering the world, be forewarned.

Reviewed by: Samuel Aaron