Album Review: A Skylit Drive

The initial and overwhelming reaction to A Skylit Drive and their sophomore album ‘Adelphia’ is one of prevailing apathy. Couple this with a generic ‘scene’ look and we are left with a sustained level of indifference…however, appearances can be deceiving. Running on the old adage ‘never judge a book by its cover’, Californian sextet A Skylit Drive deserve some credit, ‘Adelphia’ in fairness has its share of strong and capable moments.

The blueprint is simple: clean vocals complimented by sporadic screamo/hardcore growls, repetitive guitar lines and the odd breakdown thrown in for good measure. What we are left with is an album in the vein of Underoath on ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ (albeit a little less heavy and a little less polished). However, to be honest the overall execution is quite decent – nothing spectacular but certainly nothing poor either.

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Opener ‘Prelude to a Dream’ creates atmosphere that is sustained with consistent efforts like ‘Heaven’ and ‘Eva the Carrier’ which combine predominant rock beats with doses of musical aggression, in the way of low screams from drummer Cory La Quay. The album does lose its way a little by not offering up much in the way of musical variety but there are enough songs such as ‘the Children of Adelphia’, one of the albums heavier songs, which keep the listener interested.

A spot on this years warped tour, some favourable publicity from Alternative Press and an album that has debuted in the United States Billboard 200 means there’s definitely a market out there for this Californian six-piece. All in all, little less preachy choruses and a little more straight-up post hardcore and A Skylit Drive are well and truly on their way to becoming a band to watch.

Two studio albums down, A Skylit Drive are gradually climbing the musical ladder. ‘Adelphia’ continues the rise but equally displays that there is still a long way to go.