English prolific trio 9 O’clock Nasty returns with another marvelous piece of sonic artistry that will immediately resonate with anyone looking for an energetic, groovy, noisy rock experience. “Playboy Driver” arrives as their single this year, arriving after “King Thing 2025,” an excellent composition released earlier this year that you should also check out as soon as possible. Previously released in 2022, this new version has been reworked and reimagined by Nick Mailing, bringing more power to it. Lyrically and thematically, “Playboy Driver” is a self-explanatory song. As the band described, it packs everything that defines this particular character. Adrenaline, power, masculinity, toxicity, all the pros and cons of a man who dedicates his life to professional racing. Soundwise, 9 O’clock Nasty packed this track with everything you dearly love about their sound. Perhaps energetic rock comes to mind first, but there are many sonic ingredients borrowed from garage rock, noise rock, art-rock, post-punk, alternative, etc. These folks are not joking around with their sound and “Playboy Driver” vividly showcases their dedication to the craft. This song is packed with powerful shouts, singalongs, heavy riffs, and groovy beats. It’s all about the rawness, energy, power, and aggression but filtered through the 9 O’clock Nasty’s collinder for an extra punch.
This new version sounds much cleaner and more dynamic, thanks to the excellent work done by Nick Mailing. His mixing and mastering techniques improved a song that already had a perfect structure and profoundly detailed segments. The song arrives with many jangly, angular yet generously distorted guitar works. You’ll hear how all those carefully assembled layers collide harmoniously throughout the entire track, creating a catchy, memorable, engaging soundscape that immediately penetrates your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the song ends. 9 O’clock Nasty fully stacked this track with excellent riffs, heavy and powerful enough to force you to jump around and headbang from scratch to finish yet melodic enough to keep your attention to everything this significant instrumentation does throughout the song. Each segment carries these impressive guitar layers. It’s nearly mindblowing how they all articulate together without overwhelming each other. In the meantime, the vocals shine in the limelight, elevating everything to new heights, commanding attention, and guiding the listening apparatus. You’ll immediately notice how the dual vocals resemble something Beastie Boys would eventually record back in the day yet 9 o’Clock Nasty does it with more melody and harmony included along the way. You’ll notice that these vocal layers, back vocals, and singalongs come straight from the heart. These vocal performances are soulful, passionate, sincere, and confident, emphasizing all those segments and orchestrations with precision and finesse. You’ll hear how all these vocal arrangements and guitar works collide harmoniously, creating a colossal wall of sound that immediately wraps around your ears.
The groovy rhythm section has always been a hallmark of 9 O’clock Nasty’s sound, and that’s the case in this version of “Playboy Driver.” Perhaps the bass guitar blends into all those guitar works, but you’ll hear every note rumbling beneath those layers. This particular instrument delivers more warmness, deepness, clearness, and heaviness while acting like a glue between mentioned instrumentations and rhythmic sequences. These low-ends bring power to this composition with luxuriant, deep, dense, heavy notes while contributing more detail to an already intricate number. In the meantime, the comprehensive collection of beats, breaks, fills, accentuations, and other percussive acrobatics holds the remainder of the band together. You’ll also notice how all these expertly arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, dynamic, groovy rhythmic sequences dictate the pace. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, and splash of the cymbals cuts through an already luxuriant ambiance, making this track even more complex and pleasing to the ears. 9 O’clock Nasty and Nick Mailing did incredible work with this rendition of the song. Their collaborative effort breathes fresh air into such an epic track, making it even more memorable, engaging, catchy, and dynamic. With Nick Mailing’s expert work, 9 O’clock Nasty’s music shines in the limelight and you should immediately check out this masterpiece. “Playboy Driver” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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