PRESS
"They sound like a mash up of early Rolling Stones, The Kinks and maybe a dash of The Clash thrown in for good measure."
“Just the Same Whatever is pretty fucking wonderful. It's a way better record than most I've heard lately. From the first few seconds
everything drips with melody and soul. There's this very vibey naturalness to it all too/ a strange unhurried movement of mysterious Pennsylvanians who sound both weathered and innocent at the same time. It's hard to explain. In my opinion, Gleasons Drift seem to have some kind of old school taproom smoke running through their veins like fog up a crick pipe. They've got very crafty NRBQ brains and fat Skynyrd tones. I'm thinking they're some kind of weary rock-n-roll spirit crew.
You know, I keep imagining that this whole record is being played live by a band of ghosts who just smoked a joint.
In a backroad country farmhouse.
On a winter Sunday morning.
The band plays loud, like Crazy Horse.
And there's crows out in the frozen corn fields.
And one of them shits on the drummer's car.
That's how much this record makes me close my eyes and imagine things. But maybe that's just me. “
“Gleasons Drift deliver big riffs and bigger melodies with a backwoods twang. At their catchiest, the songs recall 70’s-era NRBQ. When frontman Bill Whalen really gets going, singing about marital upheavals or excessive drinking with folksy humor and hints of sadness, he proves as potent a songwriter as the similarly oriented Mike Cooley of the Drive By Truckers. Come for the hooks, stay for the jokes, savor the stories.”
“It turns out all the handwringing about the death of guitar bands was a little premature, Gleasons Drift prove riff-heavy barroom rock is still alive and thriving. Gleasons Drift play straight forward rock, reminiscent of everyone from The Replacements to Springsteen in his less moody periods.”
“I’ll bet whenever/wherever these guys play live the bartenders are busy serving up an assortment of beers to the happy patrons.”
“Gleasons Drift is a straight-ahead rock outfit that felt part Tom Petty, part Southern Culture on the Skids. Fast, loud, catchy hooks, and the right amount of twang.”
“It’s like if The Stones hooked up with Mellencamp, clean, dirty rock ‘n’ roll with blistering riffs a la Chuck Berry. Great stuff ”
“riff-heavy pub rock melodies similar to The Replacements or The Stones, like Southern Culture On The Skids with a rural garage vibe”
Gleasons Drift is a project of garage band rock music sporting Replacements-like turn on a dime riffs, Stonesy/ Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers) vintage guitar tones and Mick and Keef vocal harmonies.
Down to Earth and infinitely likable, Gleason's Drift are worth your time. Crack a cold one open and enjoy. Toss me one, too.
“This Pennsylvania four-piece are a terrific bar band rocking out originals. Gleasons Drift has that classic American local rock band feel and for those in their vicinity it is likely refreshing for such a band to rock their local haunt.”
“Straight-up, blues-derived rock, and it's pretty easy to get along with.”
“Gleason's Drift are an American band who've chucked REM, Tom Petty and a few other classic bands of that ilk into a pot, with hints of power pop, catchy hooks and some nice guitar work, good solid fare.”
“catchy, solid rock tunes”
“Rock 'n' roll's everyman spirit is alive and well in this no-frills quartet from rural Pennsylvania. Gleasons Drift believe in the three Bs: Bob Seger, Budweiser and the eternal Buzz. As a result, Beaver has a slightly boozified view of the world that tilts everything it sees -- love, money, '73 Chevys -- slightly to left of center.
Though Gleasons Drift aren't as fantastically wasted as The Replacements or Guided by Voices, honest blue-collar laments like "Personally (Don't Take It)" and "Been a Drag" will appeal to fans of those groups, so honest are they in their depiction of four regular dudes drinking six-packs and playing songs in each other's basements. You can practically see Westerberg and Pollard buzzed out in the Snake Pit, downing Old Style tall boys and flipping bingos, listening to the shambolic furor of "Black Cloud Shadow" or "Regina".
“Gleasons Drift is a band about keeping the spirit of Rock and Roll alive. It’s nice to hear a solid, honest band whose personality is audible and whose hard work and wide musical appreciation is apparent.”
“The earmarks that Hank Williams, John Fogerty, Robbie Robertson and even the Rolling Stones (plenty of Keith Richard’s guitar power and Jagger’s swagger are evident) left on Rock, country and Americana are evident. Rollickingly fun”
“The album is a showcase of the band’s signature style, with influences ranging from 1950s rock ‘n’ roll to ’70s punk and pub rock. It has all the Gleasons Drift hallmarks, lots of guitar, lots of stops and starts, turnarounds and changes, and pop choruses.”