Rose Hill Drive: Rose Hill Drive EP

Rose Hill Drive
EP
Sci Fidelity
2006-07-25

There’s an inherent problem with out-of-high-school bands — and that’s maturity. Sometimes the artist will arrive both musically and lyrically loaded on the scene (see: Eve 6), but then there are times where the levels of ambition and talent don’t exactly match up. Such is the case with Rose Hill Drive. Opening their EP with the throwback Oasis-styled rocker “Raise Your Hands”, it’s obvious that the band is capable of delivering solid songs… but not necessarily great ones. “Man on Fire” delivers more of the same, but it’s the EP-exclusive “Intruder” that works up to a solid guitar-strum hook, again channeling the Gallagher Bros, but without the raging pomposity. Closer “Cool Cody” comes across surprisingly good for a live performance, but remains a by-the-numbers blues rocker (and at 7 minutes, really pushes patience). Sadly, their cover of “Shakin’ All Over” — included on the excellent Stubbs the Zombie soundtrack — is left off. It’s a real tragedy, because in that one song they exhibited more personality than what the majority of their EP has to offer. Yet, if they play their cards right, they might have a stunner of a full-length… but that’s still a maybe.

RATING 4 / 10