Junkyard Travel – Electric Love
Release Date: 13th May 2021
Label: Mighty Music
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Genre: Hard Rock
FFO: Rival Sons, The Temperance Movement, D-A-D.
Review By: Séamus Patrick Burke
How many bands get to release their rock album on Friday the 13th? How perfect is that?
Luck at least seems to be on our side, however. Despite a severely weakened influence in the States, rock n’ roll and metal are still going strong in Europe, with numerous festivals catering to passionate fans and fresh bands happy to engage. Today, we put another pin in the map with Denmark’s own Junkyard Drive, honed from playing over a hundred shows and five million streams of their music across the globe.
Despite being from Northern Europe, Junkyard Drive’s music is firmly based in Southern boogie and blues. But in the way that bands like Aerosmith would treat the genre, taking what worked and cranking it up to 11. That attitude unfortunately led to the hair metal era, but there’s no body glitter to be found on Electric Love, the band’s latest release. More Mötley Crüe, less Poison, if you catch our drift.
That’s not hyperbole. The rapid-fire chug of album opener/single “Let It Burn” recalls the chugging energy of the Crüe classic “Kickstart My Heart”. However, the Crüe’s penchant for excess extended to their music, with tons of overdubs on guitars and vocals. Not so with Junkyard Drive. The music is definitely polished, but just enough to sound good without being indulgent. Oliver Hartmann’s guitar is sharp and precise, and the clean passages during the bridge show he’s not just a one-trick pony. Lead singer Kris knows how to layer his voice right, making him perfect for the “gang” vocal-style this kind of music demands.
The “Southern” in Southern boogie becomes more pronounced on the third song, with the acoustic strumming and piano on “Mr. Rock N’ Roll” setting the mood perfectly before things kick into gear. The “Drive” in Junkyard Drive is firmly represented. Fitting for a rock band whose origin includes rehearsing in a lot of old, abandoned cars.
Hartmann’s guitar covers the usual bases: raunchy distortion, gentle cleans, the occasional octave effect to mimic twin leads (all three are featured on “Home”). What makes it distinct is the style and panache brought to the table. To be clear, though, bassist Mikkel and drummer Claus are no slouches either. The tempo of “Let Me Love You” slows down just enough to let the band’s individual instruments breathe, and you finally get to appreciate the “THWACK!” of the snare and the thump of the bass. Kris also overdubs his voice enough to produce a rich, choral effect. Freddie Mercury would be proud.
The only downside of Electric Love is that tempo changes like that are few and far in-between. The album is a tight ten songs, but you only get a shake-up in the final quarter at best, with the more tender “Wonderland of Temptations” and the moody acoustics of “Mama”. Kris has a great voice, but his wail can get a bit grating when that’s all the song calls for. Listen close
enough, you can almost identify him hitting literally the same note with his screams time and again. This is a badass rock record, so we doubt few will complain. But Junkyard Drive has the talent and know-how to shake things up more if they want.
In any case, Electric Love is a tight crowd-pleaser that keeps the energy alive without overstaying its welcome. At 40 minutes, this gives you bang for your buck and would’ve been a guaranteed smash in the vinyl era. Easily one of the most enjoyable listens of 2022. Here’s hoping Junkyard Drive don’t run out of gas any time soon. 
(4 / 5)
