“Speeding out of smalltown Texas and into the big league, blending garage-rock with electronica – and doing it dynamically” - NME

"...the young band deliberately lean into more expansive textures and darker thematic territory, distilling all their coming of age angst into a decidedly mature trio of soundscapes" - DIY

“...their sound, and goals, are all their own — reinventing indie music for a modern age while increasing representation for Latin artists in the genre” - Alternative Press

“...an extraordinary fusion of different sounds and approaches.” - CLASH

“The act bring a refreshing presence into the indie rock scene” - The Line of Best Fit

“The sound of young adulthood” – METAL Magazine

“Somewhere between The Smashing Pumpkins and The Cribs, US band late night drive home are laying down a marker with a run of excellent singles in the run up to their debut full-length album” - WONDERLAND

Today, late night drive home releases their buoyant yet ominous debut album as I watch my life online via Epitaph. The band has never known a world without the internet — without access to the endless stream of joy, sorrow, and titillation that we all tune in and tune out to on the daily. In many ways, the guys can’t extricate themselves from that reality, but they’re trying to grapple with it — Stream.
 
They shared, “The record is a collection of different meta perspectives of our lives online. Sometimes you’re an observer from in front of the screen, sometimes you’re the one looking at people from the inside out.”
 
late night drive home was born in El Paso, Texas, and Chaparral, New Mexico, hardworking communities where the collars were mostly blue — a quality that the band would bring to their music as self-taught craftsmen. It started out as a modest collaboration between vocalist Andre Portillo and his high school friend/former band member, guitarist Juan “Ockz” Vargas, with the later addition of drummer Brian Dolan and Vargas’ cousin, bassist Freddy Baca. With the explosion of their single “Stress Relief” bringing in tens of millions of streams, the band found themselves signed to Epitaph in 2023 and playing stages their indie idols previously shredded: Coachella, Shaky Knees, Austin City Limits and Kilby Block Party.
 
Over the last few years, the band has been dreaming up as I watch my life online. “Sonically and stylistically, the record as a whole is a testament to our growth as a band. As our first record produced professionally, with the help of Sonny Diperri, staying true to our roots while exploring elements of our favorite genres was definitely a one of a kind experience,” they share. “As a band that grew up on the internet, we feel the need to share our perspectives of how the internet has shaped our lives.”

The resulting suite of tracks is a series of online vignettes, starting with “as i watch my life online,” which arrives on a wave of Soma — the band digs Brave New World — a spaced-out trippy jam that Dolan says “speaks to our relationship with the internet — making fun of others’ art, projecting your emotions online as a journal, or being afraid to. It is a huge critique of how some people are scared to represent themselves online even as artists. It sets the tone and central theme of the entire album.”

“she came for a sweet time” pogos in next on a wave of bouncy guitars, diving into a world of online hookup and meet-up culture. “Isolation is an interesting concept when you factor in the idea of millions of people in the palm of your hand,” Portillo says. “We see face after face, yet we don't think twice about our social interactions. The cure instantly becomes the downfall of your mental stability. Relationships lose meaning, I mean, there's no point in worrying about the previous interaction when you'll have a new one the next day.” We get a little reprieve from the digital doldrums on “day 2,” a banger that’s made for late-night dancefloors. “It’s about waking from a long, emotional slumber that drags you from habituated responses to self-awareness in the modern age of online dating and hookup culture,” Portillo says. “The discovery of one person that changes your perception of what it’s like to be loved.” And then it’s time to touch grass with “opening a door,” a Vines-tinged call to do just that.