Deep Elm seem to have cornered the market in all things emo. Their respected Emo Diaries series continues to be a springboard for a range of artists. One such artist, who has made the jump from the series to a debut album on Deep Elm, is Francis Garnia, otherwise known as Drive Til Morning. This is his self-titled debut album, recorded with the help of a couple of friends over a five-year period in New York and Austin, Texas.
Francis Garnia was raised against the background of the Texas punk rock scene of the early nineties. He played in a number of bands, including Yuck and Fourth Grade Nothing, sharing the stage with likes of Green Day, Jimmy Eat World and Propagandhi. By 1998 Francis had begun to dabble with acoustic four track recordings, and in doing so laid the groundwork for what would become Drive Til Morning. His musical alter ego was actually conceived in the Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood of New York, and the fruits of that project can be seen here.
Whilst Garnia certainly has a punk rock background, Drive Til Morning would be better described as a strange hybrid of country, folk and emo. For the main part the songs consist of an acoustic guitar, a pedal steel, and some memorable vocals. The lack of drums, and the occasional strings, gives the album a very personal, intimate feel.
At times ‘Drive Til Morning‘ leaves you breathless with the quality of some of the songs. Opener ‘Palmtrees Sway’ is a beautiful, stripped down track with Garcia’s hushed vocals perfectly complementing the laidback acoustic riffs. Even better than this is ‘At the center of the Universe’, one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. However, whilst some of the album is outstanding, other tracks come across as very bland, especially the alt-country songs, complete with “mock†vocals. A particularly bad example of this is ‘Byscenic Highway’, a song that makes you cringe at times.
Francis Garnia has created a hybrid of an album with his debut Drive Til Morning release. At times it can be a stunning example of the beauties of acoustic rock, yet at others it leaves you reaching for the skip button. Garnia has real talent; of that there can be no doubt. I just don’t think we’ve seen the summit of his abilities on this release.
Mark