ALBUM REVIEW: A Portrait Of An Ugly Man – Remo Drive

Minnesota brother duo REMO DRIVE, are returning with their new release, A Portrait Of An Ugly Man. This album brings us some classic rock sounds whilst also taking influence from previously unexplored sources. Some of these include old Westerns as well as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack, making for an unexpected sound.

Starting off with A Guide To Live By, the band open the track up with some groovy guitar riffs and well placed drum beats, which lead into some harmonic vocals from Erik Paulson. It is a nice tune that gives off this chill sort of feel, definitely one to throw on when relaxing. Again, the chorus gives off this groovy vibe, with the good tempo coming from the drums and guitar, and the vocal melodies. The lyrics are also thoughtful, so give you something to think about whilst listening.

The band recently released a music video for the song Star Worship, which they filmed during lockdown in their parent’s garage, which is worth a watch if you get the chance. The song follows suit to the previous one, mixing funky riffs and beats with soft feeling vocals. If I’ve Ever Looked Too Deep In Thought, mixes softly played instruments with some really interesting sounds. It definitely makes for one of the more distinctive songs on the album due to these sounds, and whilst all the songs are good to listen to, they definitely seem to all share a similar rhythm and feel. This track although is softer, still manages to have an impact.

True Romance Lives seems to be the rockier sounding track on this album, using some classic sounding guitar and bass riffs from Stephen Paulson, whilst also introducing some higher vocals and backing vocals. The band has said that QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE also influenced them on this album which you can sense in the guitar styles/riffs. REMO DRIVE has managed to take this influence, but make their music completely their own, through vocals and overall sound.  

The Night I Kidnapped Remo Drive, sounds like the sort of song you could find on the soundtrack of a film, with the way its vocals compliment the instruments. You can tell that the lyrics for all the songs on this album were very important, as they all have quite large meanings. Again, the pace of this song seems to be replicated in a quite a few of the other tracks, which could be a hindrance as some may say there is not enough range in this album.

Overall, A Portrait Of An Ugly Man is cool in its approach and sound, including groovy riffs, good rhythms and nice vocals, but it could do with one or two tracks that have a faster pace or are slightly more exciting. This is just due to the fact that it could be hard to differentiate some songs to others. However, it is definitely a good album which is enjoyable to listen to.

Rating: 7/10

A Portrait Of An Ugly Man is set for release on June 26th via Epitaph Records.

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