Once you get over the initial shock that you, my friend, just bought a twenty-six minute, full-length CD; you may want to know how long, on average, the track length is on …And We Drive, the third project from Side Walk Slam. Well, no need to do the math. We here at the Jesus freak Hideout have got you covered. The average track length is 2 minutes and 9 seconds. Yes, I kid you not. A third of the tracks on …And We Drive are less than two minutes long. MxPx used to get away with these kinds of absurd statistics by cramming their CDs with tons of songs, hence making the disc longer. But this is simply twelve relatively short songs on one extremely short disc.

Speaking of MxPx, they are whom Side Walk Slam can be best compared to. Actually, it's more of a combined effort between MxPx and Slick Shoes. That pretty much sums up what you'll hear on …And We Drive. It's almost disturbing how closely they resemble both bands, both vocally and musically.

Should that be considered an insult? Well, yes and no. Yes, because, as a band, you should strive for originality (Side Walk Slam doesn't have too much of that… at all.) No, because, MxPx and Slick Shoes are both very outstanding bands. There's nothing original here, but that doesn't mean it doesn't rock. These guys have a lot of talent.

There isn't too much depth to their lyrics, but they play out well with the beats. They want to forget past mistakes on "Letting Go" and long to reunite with a loved one on "When I'm Gone." Nothing deep, but it's punk rock. How much depth can you expect?

Serious punk rock fans are the only ones who need apply here. Highly recommended to those who like MxPx and Slick Shoes. Anyone looking for something original will definitely want to look elsewhere. But, on it's own, …And We Drive is quite a good, albeit short, disc.

- Review date: 10/3/03, written by Josh Taylor