Night Drive Fearlessly Meld Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" & LCD Soundsystem's "Too Much Love" On Future Wave-tinged Pre-album Single (Soundcloud, self-released)
"Night Drive co-founders, Rodney Connell and Brandon Duhon met after a young woman they were both unknowingly dating was killed in a car crash. The tragic event bonded the two and shortly afterwards, they began a musical collaboration," reads a rather cryptic introduction to "Future Wave" duo Night Drive's Facebook Bio. "This guy we met at a bar (who [said] he used to guitar tech for Jimmy Page) dared us to cover "Whole Lotta Love." It just so happened that "Too Much Love" came on the house speakers in the background and we thought that was kind of interesting. It all just materialized from there," Rodney Connell detailed within a recent emailed statement. Night Drive further describe "Whole Lotta Love/Too Much Love" as a "dark Electro-Pop re-imagination," which they say is "what you might expect, if Jimmy Page and James Murphy had a child in a dystopian NYC, circa 2041." I wonder if Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones & John Bonham ever imagined they would one day be effectively "mashed-up" with LCD Soundsystem, while writing and recording Led Zeppelin II way back in April-August 1969?
Brandon Duhon & Rodney Connell additionally list Brian Eno, LCD Soundsystem, New Order, Scott Walker, David Bowie, Cut Copy, Soft Moon, [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark], The Knife, The Drums, and "Sci-Fi cinematic landscapes" amongst their greatest influences on their long-awaited and seemingly soon forthcoming full-length album. While I'm admittedly, far from an expert on "Future Wave," Electro-Pop, or remotely any form of EDM, I can seriously get down with a Classic Rock and Dance-Punk-blending, forward-thinking composition like "Whole Lotta Love/Too Much Love;" however, I must say, excluding instrumentation, Night Drive's vocalist bares a striking resemblance to Ink Master host, Jane's Addiction guitarist, and one-time Red Hot Chili Peppers member Dave Navarro's phenomenal lone solo album, Trust No One (2001). Night Drive's progressive Led Zeppelin & LCD Soundsystem hybrid-cover—as well as Position I EP, Young Rivals EP, and a wide array of remixes, covers, etc.—are currently available for streaming and download on their Soundcloud page ahead of their as-yet-untitled full-length.