A really good, strong vocal is essential in driving (see what I did there?) a dream-pop track. From the deceptively delicate soprano of Kirsten Morrell for Goldenhorse to Amelia Murray‘s powerful contralto/mezzo soprano as Fazerdaze, there are any number of Kiwi artists who can lay claim to being the cojones-laden front person in Kiwi oriented guitar pop.

Bridges, led by Rachel Hamilton, effortlessly fits this bill. From their second album, EP Life Of The Party, new single Drive takes us down the pleasant road of a well-constructed and arranged indie-pop track that sends a person’s minds eye to any number of special places from personal yesteryears. A nice trick that’s achieved when a heart is worn on a sleeve when a set of lyrics are composed. And matched with an appropriate musical score.

This is lovely, frankly. It’s not a track that’s aiming to challenge your comfort, or question your values. It’s offering you the chance to step away from the current world climate wherein those challenges beset us numerous times a day. A chance to sit back, and think of a time when you could let yourself wander inside your own head, and think of past, present and future with a golden glow, not red flashing lights. We get plenty of the challenge songs. Let’s celebrate getting an ethereal invitation to simply chill and spend four minutes and some seconds in the right now.

Rachel says, in the EPK:

‘Drive’ captures the escapism of being on the open road with friends, without a care in the world.

“‘Drive’ is about, quite literally, driving away from your problems” says Bridges. “It’s a song that really summarises this era of Bridges for me; LIFE OF THE PARTY has seen some light coming back into my life over the course of making it. ‘Drive’ symbolises a new kind of carefree feeling I’ve caught glimpses of in the past year.”

The promo vid is out on YouTube, and while I again won’t post spoilers, I will say the settings are lush and appropriate. They give the track a lot of the vibe the band aimed for, so this provides a visual dimension to that. It’s filmed on 16 mm and directed by Tom Grut, who’s choice of the 16 mm adds to the ambience. Good work, good angles, lighting, theme. Go find it on YouTube now.

Dreampop can be difficult to hit. It can come across as too ethereal (Enya?) or it can be too jangly or trebly. Nice to hear it done well, and I can affirm that this would indeed make a great track for your road trip soundtrack. It’s also going to hit the live shows well, which are coming this month in fact – so use your Google to look up tickets!