“What is it about the night / That makes us think about the things we’ve lost?” - Jim Ivins, "Late Night Drive"

Richmond-based singer/songwriter Jim Ivins recorded his debut solo album 99 Cent Dreams in 2007 and shortly after formed the Jim Ivins Band.  Over the next two years, the band earned a licensing deal with MTV and toured the east coast, sharing the stage with the likes of Carolina Liar, the Rocket Summer, Parachute, and Carbon Leaf.

Taking a step back from his band’s power pop approach, Ivins recorded another solo EP that ventures into starker musical territory while still maintaining his inherent accessibility.  Late Night Drive conjures images of wintery solitude, using a more somber and reflective tone than that found in his work with his four-piece band.  The result is a cohesive, intimate, personal, and raw record that manages to keep its distance from the easy road of emotional melodrama. 

The opening track “Love’s Like Snow” establishes the record’s winter setting as he sings, “It’s always raining when you’re not with me / But when you’re hear all I see is snow / And this cloudy sky’s a reminder that you’re all that I need / To get through this winter / My warmth lies within her.”  Ivins’ acoustic guitar is accompanied only by sparse notes from the piano, reminiscent of Ryan Adams’ older solo work but without the country twang. 

“Riptides” is a frank confession of a fear of the unknown future that uses warm bell tones to complement the melody and contrast the soul-baring lyrics, as Ivins sings, “Staring into my head / I see what I can’t speak / For I am scared to death / ‘Cause I wanna take a leap.” 

“Late Night Drive” is the album’s emotional centerpiece, perfectly evoking the thoughts and feelings that most listeners could identify with spending a long time in a car accompanied only by their thoughts.  This song could work perfectly as a montage soundtrack in a coming-of-age movie like Garden State. 

“Twilight” is easily the highlight of the EP, a piano-driven ballad accompanied by atmospheric, brush-stroke drums that produce a sound truly representative of the song’s title.  As the song mourns a failed love, it even makes use of female background vocals that gives the illusion of a conversation between the estranged lovers.  After a slow-simmering buildup, the song’s final line hits like a brick – “Memories are for suckers / Who couldn’t make it last.”

The EP closes with “House of Three”, a tribute to Ivins’ mother who passed away the previous year.  Despite the desperation found in the lyrics (“And I swore to God I said everything / But everything’s still not enough”), the album closes on a hopeful tone, as if reaching a catharsis through the confrontation of his inner demons. 

Late Night Drive is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.

TheJimIvinsBand.com

Facebook.com/TheJimIvinsBand

ReverbNation.com/JimIvins

By Editor-In-Chief and Correspondent: Andrew Lutwin

Andrew is originally from Boston, but has spent equal time in Richmond and considers both home.  He graduated VCU with a B.A. in English and looks forward to seeing if his degree will be worth a damn.  While attending Northeastern University, Andrew began covering music for the Zig-Zag Live website and tour campaign, which won him the undying affection of Bostonians because of his access to free rolling papers.  He is fortunate enough to have parents with great taste in music and owes much of his musical sensibilities to them.  Some of his favorites include the Beatles, the Clash, My Morning Jacket, Mastodon, Mission of Burma, all 70s R&B, and anything that can be considered "outlaw."  Other hobbies include food, guitar, whiskey, hiking, Boston sports, and maintaining his beginner-level fish tank.

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