Drivin' N Cryin' - Songs About Cars, Space, and The Ramones (New! Records)

Drivin ‘n’ Cryin’s second of four EPs, Songs About Cars, Space, and the Ramones finds them on the fresh, upbeat jangle-rock kick that was found on the preceding EP, Songs from the Laundromat. Kicking off with “Hot Wheels,” it’s obvious that Kevn Kinney is still a powerful songwriter, and his knack for writing catchy, sometimes “hard” rock songs. The remaining four songs don’t vary terribly much from that formula; “Out Here In The Middle of Nowhere” is a powerful rocker, features the guitar work of Dead Boys guitarist Cheetah Chrome, while “Johnny Rides Shotgun” cranks out the punk/metal guitar melodies, and “Space Eyes” rounds out the EP with a bit of a country-punk affair. Like the previous EP, this one only whets the appetite for the third release. Bring it on!