Drive By Cinema is a pop-punk band from Palmdale, CA that partakes in healthy doses of nostalgia. Their debut record, ‘Over It!’ features sounds made popular by scene legends Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy, while evenly distributing their own style throughout, like sprinkles of emo fairy dust.

The introductory track, “House Show Anthem,” sounds exactly like the title might suggest. Every second of the track insinuates that each member of the band has spent countless hours doing their due diligence, immersing themselves in their local scene. This song is especially giving Blink-182 vibes, with a catchy guitar riff guiding the way, and vocalist Jesse Alezano’s classic SoCal pop-punk accent commanding the mix.

‘Each song has a unique story to tell, with Drive By Cinema earnestly pouring their hearts out every time. Themes seen frequently in the genre, like growing pains and tough topics, are used throughout. However, the band’s creative perspective offers new insight that hasn’t yet been explored. A nice balance between musical movement and lyrical poetry helps showcase these ideas.

As an independent debut record, “Over It!” has major up-and-coming potential. The band evidently knows what they’re doing, but more importantly, they clearly enjoy playing music together. Both of these factors contribute heavily to a band’s success.

The songs “Merlin” and “Flatline” are standouts, for vastly different reasons. There is a subtle shoutout to Fall Out Boy in the intro to “Merlin,” a reference to the anthemic “Folie Á Deux” intro “Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes.” This Easter Egg was a touch of genius; in the Fall Out Boy original, the lore suggests that the song was inspired by Gabe Saporta’s family. If you know you know, but personal ties throughout the OG scene are quintessential to its existence, and this generation of bands is doing a great service to everyone involved by preserving its history, even jokingly as explored by Drive By Cinema. The production in the rest of the song is truly impressive, some of the best work in the entire album.

“Flatline,” serving as my second-favorite in the record, is a powerful lead single. Singles are tricky because they need to establish an album’s essence without giving everything away, spoiler central. This lead single does an excellent job of getting listeners excited for the rest of the work. If I had gone into this record completely blind to Drive By Cinema’s sound, “Flatline” would get me excited about a live show. I’d be sure to memorize all the words to sing along as loudly as possible.

The record offers 3 guest appearances by Sullivan Burkart, Ronx, and Ex-Girlfriend, each offering dynamic performances that round-out their corresponding tracks. Collaborative efforts often showcase the best that bands have to offer, and each of these examples is proof of this phenomenon. They also showcase solidarity between comrades, scene up-and-comers working together to create real magic.

Though “Over It!” is the band’s true starting point, they are an already-established group that will skyrocket in the near future. Their current levels of momentum shine clearly through each expertly curated track, guiding audiences to be excited for their future. If they keep their open minds looking towards exploration and inspiration, Drive By Cinema could make the next pop-punk classic. Add a few more cheeky 808s to the sophomore record, and they will be good to go! They did their homework, and it’s time to stick their earned A+ projects on the fridge with their favorite magnets.

Listen to ‘Over It'!’ by clicking HERE!