Kyoto Drive are a four piece rock band from Birmingham, UK, consisting of Adam Binder on Vocals/Bass, Mike Levell on Guitar/ Vocals, Mark Piper also Guitar/Vocal and Mitch Davis playing Drums. The Approach is a 7 track mini album released in May on I Am Mighty records and if catchy, upbeat pop rock with great vocals is your thing then you have to check this band and album out. We reviewed the album and caught up with the band for a track by track insight on it.
The Approach Review
After the short intro track Receive This Little Breath, the band head straight into Holiday, a real catchy number, with a driving chorus and some great melodies.
So Much Alive continues along the same route with a big chorus and some catchy as hell melodies. Singer Adam really shines, he has such a good voice which suits the bouncy pop rock superbly.
One of my favourite track’s here is Breathe, it’s the kind of track that belongs on an American TV show, full of infectious melody and with a massive chorus.
The album was produced by Matt O’Grady (Deaf Havana, You Me At Six) so sounds as great as you would expect.
You can see the video for Chapters below, a good track with some spiky guitar lines and killer verses.
This mini album finishes up with You Never Know, mid tempo, piano led number with a trademark huge Kyoto Drive chorus, a perfect end this collection of songs.
8.5/10
Track By Track Insight
Receive This Little Breath – This track is a nice little intro to the record. The song name actually comes from a war poem called ‘The Approach’, the story of the poem is from viewpoint of a solider on the battlefield, the last line, as he dies, is “Receive This Little Breath”. We just really liked the imagery of that line and that if you didn’t know the poem, it could mean anything to you.
Holiday – This song was one of those songs that writes itself, a simple idea that didn’t take much effort to piece together. It’s got great pace and energy. The lyrics are about a holiday romance, how there are two sides to it, how great it is when you’re in the moment but you both know it can only last for so long.
So Much Alive – So Much Alive was the first song we wrote for the record. It’s an upbeat/catchy song that is probably the one that kids recognise the most in our set due to the video we released for it last year. It is always a blast to play live and a great way to end the set. The song is based around parts of a film called August Rush. There are a few scenes from the film about a guy and girl meeting on a rooftop of a party, they instantly hit it off and from then on they are the only ones for each other.
Faking Laughs For Photographs – This song is actually about Adam taking his girlfriend on a trip to the seaside to propose. It was the last song to make the record. We had two songs that we couldn’t decide on, one that was another upbeat number and this one. We all felt this track would break up the record a bit as it has a different vibe to the others.
Breathe – Breathe is a straight forward pop rock anthem. This song is all about sex, not quite sure if you can decipher that from the lyrics, a lot of people ask what its about. The key change still makes us all laugh listening to it as it was the first one we had ever tried in a song and in the studio, Matt (O’Grady) got Adam to layer up loads of harmonies at the end which just made it sound so pop, it was cheese at its best.
Chapters – Like So Much Alive, Chapters has been in the set for a while now and another song that wrote itself. It was the second track that we made a video for and is one that the kids all seem to go crazy to live. It’s wrote from a bands point of view how you write all these songs your really proud of and you put them out there just hoping people will enjoy them as much as you do.
You Never Knew – Every band has one of these songs. A song about being in a band, the trials and tribulations of tour, an ode to fellow band members everywhere. It was a big epic song that, as soon as it was written, we knew it would end the record. We even got our good friend Paul from Paige to came to the studio to play piano on it.
Kyoto Drive are another one of the UK’s rising stars and definitely deserve a place alongside Deaf Havana, You Me At Six, Octane OK and Young Guns. The band are supporting Hawthorne Heights on their September tour so make sure you get down early and check them out.
As well as from Itunes you can get ‘The Approach’, and T shirts, from the band’s webstore – http://www.kyotodrive.bigcartel.com/ and for more info check out the band on facebook – http://www.facebook.com/kyotodrivemusic
