Album Reviews

It’s good to have Time Spent Driving back. Their 2002 debut album is still one of my favorite emo records, and they have always known exactly how to balance melancholy with energetic drive, twinkling guitars with shimmering leads. So it was great to see them return with 2023’s Estrangers, and even better to have them follow it up with Lost Leaves.

Out now via Thirty Something Records, Lost Leaves finds the Santa Cruz-based band delivering ten new songs that could just as easily have been released in the 2000s, while at the same time showcasing a band with a more refined sense of purpose and an even keener ear for arrangements and melodies. Much of the album was apparently already written before Estrangers had even been released, with the origins of some songs reaching even further back. “Red Dress,” for example, was written almost two decades ago before being rediscovered and substantially rewritten. An extra reason to love this song are the guest vocals from Chris Wicky of Swiss band Favez, one of my all-time favorites.

Opener “Weak Arm” kicks off with big Jimmy Eat World-like energy, before coming in with the kind of melodies that are vintage Time Spent Driving. Elsewhere on the album, “Ambien” sounds like a recently unearthed gem by Sense Field. Another highlight comes in the form of “She’s the One,” an upbeat tune built around beautiful melodies and warm guitar tones. The song finds vocalist Jon Cattivera looking back at the intensity of first love with the kind of perspective that can only come with time. 

Over the last couple of years, there has been an almost insane number of bands returning with new music after being away for a really long time. If all of the results are as strong as Lost Leaves, that’s something that can only be encouraged.