Cannons - Night Drive

Cannons
Night Drive
2017
Spotify

I have sort of an interesting relationship with Cannons. When I first started this project of reviewing an album a day I also started to going to a lot more shows. One of those shows happened to be in this tiny garage in Los Feliz which was a converted old meat market called: Vega's Meat Market. The band I went to see was Cannons who I found randomly on a streaming deep dive, and little did I know it was one of their first shows. There were maybe 15-20 people there, the band was on the same level as us, the sound wasn't great but Cannons played their few songs well. That was over three years ago and I've seen them many times since watching them get better and better every single time. We then arrive at this debut record Night Drive which perfectly sums up their effortless style. Sex drips from every corner of Cannons' songs with Michelle Joy's voice sensually letting each note spill out. They once described their sound as future boogie, which I absolutely love and fits them so well. There is this real ethereal quality to their music that gives it this real smoky vibe sort of floating all around the space with the occasional punch from the bass or percussion. Synths swirl throughout but the vocal effect used on much of the album is the real star.

Title track "Night Drive" really brings in the funky vibes that Cannons are so great at. They manage to keep their music feeling incredibly modern but bring in some great elements of funk to really ground everything and keep it stable. Nothing from their previous EPs make it to Night Drive which is a bold choice that pays off for the young band. "The Beach" is the first time we get a look at a really upbeat Cannons and their sound still holds up even as the pace quickens. The guitar solos from Ryan Clapham are understated yet perfectly timed, never really pulling the entire focus away but always benefiting the tracks they are featured on. Paul Davis also does a lot of heavy lifting playing keys, drums and bass. It all blends together incredibly well as this album flows along always maintaining that sexy yet sleek vibe that they are able to harness so well. If you don't know them already let this be your introduction, but get ready, because Cannons aren't going anywhere for a very long time.

8.5 out of 10