December 14, 2015
Having only seen these guys once in concert a few years ago, I had become unfamiliar with their sound but thought it to be good old rock-n-roll. Through the years (and a few lineup changes) has morphed into a more pop than rock band but that seems to suit them just fine. Even though the end result is a little different, they still display great musicianship and new vocalist Liv Miner has a fantastic voice. Working with two producers who could not be any more different, Matt Squire of Ke$ha, Ariana Grande and Panic! At the Disco fame and Dave Fortman that has worked with Evanescence, Godsmack and even Slipknot, Drayter has come up with a nice mix of pop, soft rock and ballads that should satisfy all of their fans.
The first single,” Run”, is a danceable little pop tune that will have you moving about rather quickly. “Criminal” starts off with some great drum work by Brandon Pertzborn and shows off Liv’s voice quite a bit. The pop producing background of Matt Squire is in full effect on the tunes “Not Alone” and “So What”. The upbeat rock portion of the disc starts with “Best I Had” as all four of the band members get the juices flowing with some bundled up energy, especially the bass lines by Mat West. The sweet & slow beginning of “Mother” again treats us to Liv’s fantastic voice and the intricate guitar playing of both Liv and Cole Schwartz throughout culminates in quite a powerful ballad. The highs and lows of this sweet song will have your emotions going every which way and this should be a hit song for them in the near future. Pop rock styles abound in “Unchained Love” and the disc closing “Still Here” with catchy tunes and catchier lyrics with a definite edge.
- Andy Upton
[LINK TO STORY: http://www.musicblendonline.com/drayter-nine/]