"Hippodrome" by Allegheny Drive is a full tilt shapshifting rocker that seems to speed by in the blink of an eye

Hippodrome by Texas based rockers Allegheny Drive is this shapeshifting hard prog rock song that flows into these surprising diversions of sound. There are mutations of psyche rock, art rock, electronica, punk, post punk and strains (although faint) of experimental rock that suggest some jazz punkish fusion things buried underneath. It is so furious and kind of feral that you blink your eyes and it is over although it is nearly 4 minutes long. Somehow it is that engaging to your brain as you scan all the tightly wound changes and musical shifts. The musicality is well, badass and the vocal performance by Noe Palacios is malleable enough to sound rock seductive and intimate but wail in an intense way when he needs to. A band like this needs a dominant drum sound and you have it here. 

Allegheny Drive core is made up of Noe Palacios (singer / guitar), Macky Divine (bass), Nathan Clark (drums / percussion) and Ian Clark (Keys) although other musicians might join in the fray at live shows. 

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Robb Donker


 

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

Allegheny Drive is the angular concoction of Denton, Texas-based cro-magnons Noe Palacios (Singer/Guitar), Nathan Clark (Percussionist), Ian Clark (Keyboardist) and Mackey Divine (Bassist). Usually joined by an extra member or two on stage, the result is a fun dismemberment of music, catchy melodies and beautiful dynamics as they throw a hodgepodge of genres together such as psychedelia, jazz, punk, post-hardcore and electronica. The band initially congregated in the cruel Texas summer of 2015 for one evening and parted ways to enjoy life until the harsh winter of early 2016 brought them back to each other to perform originals written by Palacios and Divine. These went on to amass an EP by the name of Jaybird. Bowling For Soup's singer and guitarist, Jaret Reddick, heard the main single from said EP and decided it was a sound that needed to be elevated, and so he took up the burden of guiding these four young men through Valve Studios and produced six of their songs. In the interim of completion of these songs, Allegheny Drive independently creates media and continues to play throughout Texas.