STORY // ANGIE PICCIRILLO
PHOTOGRAPHY // ELIAS TAHAN Â
Many fans are familiar with the band R5 — the seemingly cleancut pop band made up of good-looking singing sisters and brothers heavily praised for their 2017 EP “New Addictions” by Rolling Stone. It was during R5’s recent worldwide tour, that brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch began dreaming up a new project that would allow them to explore the dirtier side of pop.
While the rest of the world is turning to boy bands and K-pop, the duo seems to be headed toward more experimental tendencies as a new pop-rock duo.
For those of you who are fans of R5, don’t fret — the guys say that this is not the end of the band but the beginning of something new… something edgier, with no bounds artistically or sonically. Enter: The Driver Era — the new project from the duo which takes a — pun intended— swift turn to a deeper lyrical adventure than with their former encounters with pop songs. “We have completely different ideas and goals at this point in our lives,” says Ross. “We are, of course, evolving and it’s natural to move forward with a new sound and outlook,” adds Rocky.
Today, they release their first track, “Preacher Man,” which is NOT a spiritual song other in the sense that it questions and tests faith. “From the title you might think there’s some kind of religious connotation there, but if anything there’s more of an atheist quality to it,” says Ross.
The song is an attitude-infused pop track featuring Ross’ forever pristine vocals with a chanty hook that will stick to your brain like gum. It’s undoubtedly more rock n’roll than any R5 song you’ve heard, with a bridge that Ross seemingly “shout talks” over a classic piano riff. If “Preacher Man” were a cocktail, it would be equal parts Elton John and Freddie Mercury with just a dash of Timberlake — and a bit of a burn on the after taste.
Ross and Rocky write, perform and produce most of the tracks that will be The Driver Era’s signature sound — it seems the brothers are still aiming to purposely blur the lines of the pop genre they were formerly became so well-known for in R5. Take a listen to the track here.
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