Juliet’s Drive

By Michael Wu

WHEN I got hold of Drive Me To Juliet’s “Kiss & Tell” CD, I was told, among other things that the band does not like to be compared to Paramour and that the Manila concert crowd crows for the group’s “Absence of Understanding,” “Saving Glass Heart” and “Lighthouse.”

I didn’t set the Windows Media Player on default and I had it at random playing. The computer went straight to “Trigger Waltz,” which really sucked me into its groove. The first thing that caught my attention was the creative energy of the drummer. Not since Keith Moon played on The Who’s “Who Are You” had I heard such fancy breaks and rolls. The next thing I noticed was the female vocalist’s unique elaborate phrasing. But from my CDR-King speaker the vocals seemed a bit buried and the bass seemed to have a slight extra vibration. It turned out that I did fiddle about the Dolby wow effects on the media player. After setting it back to default everything sounded good.

So I right away checked the aforementioned hits. I found “Lighthouse” to be quite melodic and haunting, which is quite rare in this collection. (I didn’t care much for the two other hits.) Lilting melodies and thought provoking lyrics are not this band’s forte. What this band is big on are harmonics, virtuoso musicianship, and innovative arrangements.

So what are their songs all about? Why, Love, of course. As poet Cesar Aquino says, all songs are love songs; all poems are love poems. In lieu of insightful lyrics, the songwriters here used various perspectives to give each song a twist. In “Lighthouse” the persona carries a torch for unrequited love but in “Try” she is trying to kick the butt of some unwanted suitor.

As I am not a musician, I asked my friend Bingoi for a musical assessment of the album. Upon hearing “Trigger Waltz” his eyes lit up and said “This band is determined to be original.” I asked him if the vocalist reminded him of Bjork. After some pause he blurted – Put3ska! Myra David Ruaro might have a bit more forceful delivery, but the phrasing is close. How about Xiomara of the Robot Balloons? He did not reply. I told him that I seem to hear a little extra vibration from the bass. He said that the bassist just likes to play open chords.

How about the style? He smiled and said that in one of their song’s intro they sounded like The Corrs, only that they substituted the flute with a violin. And in another they reminded him of The Cure, albeit having female vocals. Versatility in handling style is a double edged sword for in one aspect it shows talent and adaptability; in another it suggests a band that hasn’t figured out its identity yet.

So where are we? I am more than impressed by the band’s musical dexterity. I am a bit distracted by the use of psycho babble clichés like “ego” and “reality” in a normal love song. But if only for the popular “Lighthouse” and the exotic experimental classic “Trigger Waltz,” you should have this album in your collection. The latter reminds me of that suicide ditty by The Police, “I Can’t Stand Losing You.” Not that they sound alike but they share the same theme of trying to haunt someone.