Review - Driving East (The Future of the Free World)

Band: Driving East
Album: The Future of the Free World
Label: The Militia Group
Rating: 2/5



After hearing Driving East’s EP I was pretty excited to hear what they could do with a full-length. Songs on the EP such as “Backseat” and “Come on, Come on” showed a lot of promise for Driving East and pop punk as a genre. Unfortunately Driving East’s full length, The Future of the Free World, fails to deliver.

The short 10 track album seems to be more of the same in a genre that is lacking creativity in recent days. Three out of the four tracks from the band’s EP made the full-length, leaving The Future of the Free World short on new material. “Backseat” and “Come on, Come on” are the strongest tracks on the album, but that’s already old news. Outside of those two, the songs lack originality and aren’t nearly catchy enough to warrant replaying the album.

The opening track “Away” is halfway decent and one of the few that I would have agreed to put on the record. The children’s choir call-and-answer with lead singer Barrett Mullins left me wondering “was that rad?” or “was that a little cliché?” The album also closes on an acceptable note with “Somebody Get Me Out of Here.”

Driving East has often been compared to Cartel, another Militia Group band of the past. Sadly, Driving East’s debut album doesn’t even come close to Cartel’s Chroma. I am a huge Militia Group fan and believe for the most part that the label can do no wrong. I’m sorry to say that this is one of the few albums Militia has put out that has failed to meet expectations.