Album Review: Ruins // Cielo Drive

Cielo Drive are a four piece alternative rock band based in Bath. They bring an incredible amount of energy to their very own rock sound. Cielo Drive released their latest album ‘Ruins‘ in May. It has received a fair amount of attention from various corners, and for the right reasons.

Firstly, It needs to be noted that upon listening to the album in its entirety, the screamed vocals in ‘You Have It All‘ carry a ton of weight. The presence of weight and energy being something that will be present throughout the majority of this album. The vocals work well with the melodic guitars, although I do feel the drums could’ve been pushed higher in the mix. I’m really wanting to have that kick smash me in the chest, just to carry me along with the overall energy.

The counterbalance of the melodic vocals with the pounding guitars is really enjoyable. It takes the listener on a journey throughout the album, especially on both ‘The Rains‘ and ‘Beholder.’ The latter track has a beautiful clean guitar with equally soaring vocals. The drumming in this song is very good.

‘Ruins‘ clocks in at 36 minutes. And on the whole, there is a hell of a lot of energy embedded in this Cielo Drive release.

However, the album lacks in energy towards the end, with some slower tempo songs that don’t add as much as previous tacks. It feels slightly disappointing as this is something that I was heavily invested in throughout. There is a level of intensity early on that really draws attention. It doesn’t allow it to drift from being saturated in passionate, defined vocal performances with a sense of confidence. Coupled with a transcending instrument and tonal build-up that truly delivers.

With that said, however, ‘Let It All Go‘ features a really passionate vocal performance, demonstrating the variation in Cielo Drive‘s sound.

It shows that Cielo Drive has a lot of potential. If they fine-tune their future releases a little further then they can be a big force in the future. A continued sense of direction and continuity between tracks would help address the lack of energy towards the end. Although it is a personal preference, it might also be better addressed in the mixing process. It remains of interest to see what they do going forward and I look forward to future releases.

Words by Ermis Madikopoulos