FM-84 singer Ollie Wride returns today with sultry groover “The Driver,” featuring The Night Hour. It’s a 1980s-tinged electro-pop number that finds Wride taking on a newfound ferocity and edginess.
The single, which premieres in video form today at NewRetroWave, has a harder-edged electro beat and arps that recall The Midnight’s “Nocturnal” crossed with the dirty synths of Kavinsky and some bluesy Depeche Mode guitars courtesy of frequent FM-84 guitarist Chris Huggett. Proceeding apace throughout the arrangement are 80s’ top-line synth flourishes and orchestra-hit pronouncements. There are segments and breaks that recall the strut pre-Berlin, mid-’70s David Bowie.
Leading the way is Wride’s quintessential pipes — a vocal power that easily transitions between tempered verses, the build of a pre-chorus, and an outright wail in the choruses. The man we’ve heard take FM-84 cuts like “Running in the Night” and “Never Stop” into the stratosphere is resident here when he declares that “I am the driver/You can see in my eyes/Got two hands at the wheel now/You can’t rule my mind/I am the driver/It’s once in a lifetime/Had me crawl for my place here/Every cloud has a silver line.”
As with previous singles “Never Live Without You” and “Overcome,” the British singer is proving that on his own he’s not just trying to recreate FM-84 without Col Bennett. On those previous more pop-oriented singles and this new, more intense cut, Wride and co-producer Michael Oakley magnify Wride’s particularly extensive musical talent and gift for songwriting that prove Wride to be a bona fide musical sensation.
Buy the single now and watch the NRW video (director Brad A. Kinnan did a great job).
“The Driver” cover by Randy Jacob.
