On “Drive Your Car,” from its forthcoming debut EP, boy-girl duo Mister Melt sings about cars, sex, fighting, and dancing—the Big 4 of rock ‘n’ roll. Mickey, the band’s car-averse singer and guitarist, calls the tune “totally ironic,” but “escapist” is more like it. The sampled drums evoke Escape Club’s party-starting 1988 hit “Wild, Wild West” — still a highway howler, even if it’s a blatant Elvis Costello rip-off — and Mickey’s vocals suggest at least some affinity for ‘50s and ‘60s American pop culture. If nothing else, Mickey and Maria dig how Brits like the Jesus and Mary Chain recontextualized malt-shop memories. – See Mister Melt at Cake Shop on July 24 and at Bruar’s Fall on July 31. Read Ken Partridge interview with the band here.
