Driver Drive Faster – Open House

If Open House sounds extraordinarily professional for a self-funded debut, it’s worth noting that three of Driver Drive Faster’s four bodies formerly performed as Polytechnic, who graced 2007 with indie-pop gems like Pep, but ultimately lacked the depth of material to build on such sprightly foundations.

Now the trio (plus drummer David Schlechtriemen) prove themselves as proficient penning dream-pop as the snappy indie nuggets of yore, with first single It’s All Over It’s Everywhere a well-chosen calling-card, breezily recalling nostalgia-loving Aussies The Sleepy Jackson.

Elsewhere, Missing Out’s Bowie-inflected lilt impresses, charming to its final deadpan line, but unfortunately, like their former guise, Driver Drive Faster eventually settle on the solidly unspectacular, albeit with greater potential for future brilliance: if they can achieve this in shared digs off their own steam, they’ve surely got the chops to turn heads on Driver Drive Faster 2: Driver Drive Fasterer.