With an ambience that would fit in with the recent F1 movie soundtrack, Rain City Drive presents “Ride or Die,” their latest adrenaline-pumping single. “Ride or Die” is one of those songs that works so well that it makes you wish there was an IV you could take that evoked the same emotion.
The song, released via Thriller Records, has heavy rock and some hyperpop elements to it, adding to the passion and connotation of the lyrics. Lead singer Matt McAndrew describes the song as one of “devotion and loyalty” to a partner, which are key parts of a successful relationship. In addition to the standard single, the band has also released instrumental and a cappella versions of the song so fans can appreciate the vocals and instrumentals together as well as separately.
While currently composed of McAndrews, Colin Vieira, Weston Richmond, and Felipe Sanchez, the band has gone from five members to four since the beginning of this year, with drummer Zack Baker leaving the band around March to work more behind the scenes in the music industry. In fact, Baker is credited as having mixed “Ride or Die,” dispelling any potential rumors of bad blood between the members that people may try to create.
In the Mad Max-like music video for the song directed by Vincente Cordero, the band appears in a car junkyard in the middle of a desert. They speed across a dirt road in the blazing heat in their decked-out vehicles with alternating takes of them performing the song. Also starring in the video as McAndrew’s love interest is his real-life fiancée and “ride or die,” Aditi Gaur, whom he just got engaged to on July 6.
Rain City Drive has just started their semester on the “Summer School Tour,” with other big names in the scene like Charlotte Sands, Taylor Acorn, Beauty School Dropout, Arrows in Action, If Not For Me, and advertised special guest Huddy. They also performed in Washington, D.C., last month as part of the returning Van’s Warped Tour and will play at the Long Beach, CA, stop next weekend.
