When I first listened to Los Angeles rockers Warner Drive‘s latest album, City Of Angels, I found myself tapping my foot along to their playful rock ‘n’ roll sound.

As soon as I heard the first lines of album opener Rising From The Fallen, vocalist Jonny Law’s voice reminded me of The Offspring’s Dexter Holland. His voice is clean yet grungy, and well suited to the genre. The song Boys ‘N Girls is especially Offspring-esque.

City Of Angels brings the skills of drummer Jonny Udell to the forefront and makes his playing the focus of each song, which gives the album an edge compared to others of this genre. In that respect it reminds me a little of Paramore’s Riot!, or Avenged Sevenfold’s Nightmare.

There are some awesome guitar solos throughout the album, which really showcase the talent of Warner Drive‘s two guitarists, although I would have liked a little more focus on bass guitar.

Each track, from Radio Love Song to West Memphis Three, is individual and easy to distinguish from the other songs on the album. You can tell that Warner Drive have found their signature sound and are planning to stick with it.

One of my biggest criticisms is that lyrically this album is not particularly original or interesting, and I hope that the band’s future efforts will demonstrate a little bit more complexity. However, whilst the individual elements of each song are nothing revolutionary, the finished article is not like anything else I’ve heard before, which bodes well for the Los Angeles quintet.

The final track, Fully Loaded, ends the album on a fast-paced high, featuring a wailing guitar solo, punchy drums and fun lyrics which are easy to sing along to.

Overall I am fairly impressed by Warner Drive‘s latest album, as well as their passion for music and their genre, and I look forward to seeing them improve.

– Katie Boyden