Music releases in the age of COVID are far and few in between, and, when we do get them, they’re subpar at best. Gainesville-based Driveaway is here to fix that.
An indie-pop band that describes their sounds as a “mix of upbeat music combined with the saddest music they could find,” their songs delve into real-life topics while still evoking the level of nostalgia and fun that you’d get from watching your favorite movie.
The band has been together for two years and consists of brothers Trenton, 24, and Tanner Ropp, 22, along with best friend Kyle Tapley, 24. The three said they came together rather organically.
The brothers began practicing in their house and created their first song. Soon after establishing themselves as a band, they added their guitarist Tapley to the mix. The brothers had known Tapley since high school, but the idea of adding him to Driveaway did not spark until college.
“[Kyle] was always the cool kid in my high school. Once college came, I think I sold him a guitar pedal, and I drove him to class, and in that span of 10 minutes I was like ‘oh I think he should be in my band, I like him.’”
The way the three so easily came together comes through in their music.
Their newest single, “Summer Song,” manages to encompass love, heartbreak and nostalgia in a way that we don’t often see. The song took six months to come into fruition and was not an easy process for Driveaway.
“This has been the scariest song for me to write in terms of its honesty, with me grappling with my self-identity and sexuality, I guess,” Trenton admitted. “I think what I ended up doing was writing a journal about how I felt. Something that just kind of came up was how I always wish I had this wonderful relationship when I was younger, especially in high school.”
“What would the nostalgia for that feel like? What do I wish would have happened? How would the breakup have been?” added the vocalist and songwriter. “In exploring that fictional relationship, I brought in experiences from my real life and found more about myself than expected.”
“Summer song” is the breath of fresh air we all desperately need. The soft, airy vocals managed to go perfectly with the up-tempo guitar to create a bop that will last through summer. The honesty and depth that pours through “Summer Song” makes it stand out amongst many top-charting songs and remains a common theme within Driveaway’s music.
For anyone looking for something new to listen to, I highly recommend it. Driveaway’s music is available on Spotify, with both their new single and video being released last Friday, Feb. 26.