McAlister Drive

Often, bands will label themselves with an incorrect title, wanting and trying to be what they’re not. Fortunately for McAlister Drive they know exactly who they are and in so many words they come just as advertised: a pop band, nothing more and nothing less. While at times this modesty is overly humble, most of the time it is fitting. The word pop in many cases can be a double edged sword and so it is for McAlister Drive on their first LP “Something To Sleep With” . They successfully capture the typical characteristics of a pop band but at the same time cannot avoid some of the pit falls that come with the territory.

McAlister Drive has a lot going for them on this record in the way of their overall instrumental sound. It is very difficult to create your own unique sound that lasts and that can become your trademark but they manage to pull it off. There is a perfect blend of bright acoustic guitars and sultry electric leads on songs like “Why” and the catchy opener “Got It Right” that becomes their calling card. There’s no doubt that McAlister Drive has the knack and creativity to create catchy pop hooks that get stuck in your head after a couple listens. They are spread throughout the album, from more sensitive piano melodies to a meaty edge in “Drowning” and the looping riff in “Scarred For Life” thanks to the electric guitar of Brock Bouchard , expanding their sound from the lofty ideals of pop to a more rock oriented approach. They really put on their boots and break out of the cutesy pop in the ambitious “So Close But So Far”. With their best “November Rain” foot put forward , check out the dramatic piano and guitar arrangements, as well as the driving attack in the last minute and a half, and you’ll know these guys definitely have a pulse and can kick it up a notch when they want to.


Because McAlister Drive is a pop band at heart they sing about what pop songs sing about: the trials and tribulations of relationships and love. And, as always, this is a very thin rope to walk across. Much of the album consists of Christoph Krey singing about such topics at a never-ending rate. It comes dangerously close to cliché range and pop cheese more times than not with lines like “Rats crawl across my feet/I have no food to eat” in “Left (I Can Honestly Say)”. At one point it begins to become a bit of a drag and you just want to go out and get these guys a happy meal to cheer them up. The only real sincere sounding one out of the bunch is the very last tune, the moving “From My Dream”. It is here that Krey’s personal lyrics finally match up in perfect pairing with a sweet melody that resonates compared to some of the others that sound not as real or deep but more like work


This is a band that has radio potential. Many of the songs sound ready to hit the airwaves and it seems that they already know this. This can be both good and bad for McAlister Drive. Goon in the regard that they know they have the ability and can take that confidence forward. Bad in the fact that they could simply become satisfied with how they are now and not continue to grow and expand on the bright spots that “Something To Sleep With” contains. Its totally up to them, but they need to make sure they steer clear of the traps so many other pop groups fall into and that they are already showing signs of.


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