Rocky and Ross Lynch of The Driver Era discuss their passionate, emotionally charged fourth LP ‘Obsession’ and the often competing ideals of perception and self-expression.

Stream: ‘Obsession’ – The Driver Era

Every few years, you can move to a new place and reinvent yourself.

Pick up a new wardrobe, a new vocabulary, new hobbies without anyone saying, “Hey, good to see you!” or “My, how you’ve changed!” Social media will undoubtedly complicate things, but you can reset your grid and hope for the best.

This is a luxury the Lynch brothers cannot afford. Gen-Zers undoubtedly know Ross Lynch from his Disney days, and Rocky Lynch is all too familiar from pop/rock band R5 (in which Ross sang lead vocals). Obsession, their fourth record as The Driver Era (out now via TOO Records / Kartel Music Group), is an endeavor marked by an earnest excitement for what they do.

What began as a carefree exercise of fun became a record devoted to a reconsideration of outside opinion. The band explains, “It was the truth of the situation – we were literally obsessed making these songs and just spent hours and hours with lots of love poured into them. Obsession is our entanglement with searching for love and trying to not fall too deep into these bad habits.”

Slick bass lines and airy synths make for an interesting approach to yearning. The record is spent in conversation, a back and forth of lust and love with the subject of affection.

Where 2022’s Summer Mixtape dabbled in exploration, these tracks fully commit to an element of surprise: The Rocky Horror Picture Showesque bridge of “Can’t Believe She Got Away,” the Nick Drake-ian intro of “Don’t Walk Away,” and the eerie half-step succession of the chorus in “I’d Rather Die.” Tracks remain minimal and repetitive, though not monotonous, in their blithe synth, thumping bass lines, and hypnotic background vocals.

The Lynch brothers are at their most exciting in these moments of risk, which pay off especially in standout track “Don’t Take the Night.”

Effortless swagger and transient synth-pop are reminiscent of the band’s earlier dance hits, though this particular combination feels like uncharted territory. Something old and something new make for hypnotic self-expression.

Obsession proves that The Driver Era is at its best when uninhibited. Rocky and Ross Lynch focus on moving forward, sincere and steadfast every step of the way, especially when the stakes are high. In our interview below, The Driver Era discuss life in the limelight and their latest release with Atwood Magazine.

It’s so smooth, baby
Got that liquid love
When you’re talking to me
I’m intoxicated

Now that the sunlight’s fallen
Our time to celebrate
We’ve waited for this moment
Don’t take the night away

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:: stream/purchase Obsession here ::

:: connect with The Driver Era here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH THE DRIVER ERA

Ross Lynch: In general, I don’t think you can fully know who someone is through a screen. There is always an element of mystery. People are too complex to be understood through the media. The social media thing is weird because it’s most of the job now. At least, people want it to be. We are getting hit left and right by our colleagues and business partners to be more focused on posting.

Rocky Lynch: Even though there’s been a small spotlight on R5 as a band, we’ve been writing music and trying to do this under a spotlight our whole life. A lot of people talk about Connor Bedard right now in hockey, saying that no one understands the pressure that he’s under as the savior of the Blackhawks at 19. To some extent, we’ve had our version of that. Make music, but not from this place where no one knows. We are under a bit of a microscope.

Ross Lynch: For this record, we didn’t really have the audience in mind. I think that’s the goal. We were inspired by just being in the studio and making music. We wanted to enjoy it. There comes a point when you get to a certain part of the process when you think, “This will be received well.” We were pursuing purpose. Because of that fact, I am trying to not focus as much on expectations and opinions.

Ross Lynch: Yeah. But then there’s my truth and there’s expression.

Ross Lynch: What ended up fossilizing me more was Disney Plus. Now there’s another generation of kids that will be exposed to it. Otherwise it would have expired.

Rocky Lynch: I saw that yesterday at this college talk. There were a few girls that were saying “Play this R5 song!” They had to be nineteen or twenty. I realized these kids were googling us and realizing we’re in bands and twenty-nine.

Ross Lynch: It’s not always roses and daisies, but most of the time it’s pretty cool. People are excited to see me. It’s a big light to try and outshine. I’ve used it in interesting ways, like when I did My Friend, Dahmer. It works for marketing and my character. People were shocked to see me shift into this serial killer. From the music perspective, people still want to see the old stuff. So the fossilized comment is accurate to some extent, but I feel like I have more to offer.

Rocky Lynch: There are two sides. It’s like, you should literally only write something because you fuck with it, you shouldn’t change one word for someone else. But there’s also a healthy survey of opinion.

Ross Lynch: Yeah, and increasingly so. There were times we thought no one would listen to this record. I want to get down to my truth and figure out how to articulate it. The reason I’m mentioning this is because I feel that I can go further. It’s important for artists to do that, regardless of the crowd’s opinion.

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:: stream/purchase Obsession here ::

:: connect with The Driver Era here ::

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 © Will Wark

Obsession

an album by The Driver Era