{"title":"late night drive home","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"as-i-watch-my-life-online","title":"as i watch my life online","description":"\u003cp\u003eLate night drive home have never known a world without Wifi - without access to the endless stream of joy, sorrow, heartbreak, and hope that we all tune in and tune out to on the daily.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn many ways, the guys can't really extricate themselves from that reality - even their band name comes from a random Wikipedia page - but they're trying to at least grapple with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMost of us grew up on the internet with unsupervised access at a very young age, says singer \u003cstrong\u003eAndre Portillo\u003c\/strong\u003e. \"As we started foreseeing all the outcomes - both good and bad - of this kind of access and advancement, we started writing... forming a sound and message that would become our next record.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe culmination of that, then, is the buoyant yet ominous \"\u003cem\u003eas I watch my life online\u003c\/em\u003e,\" the band's debut album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLate night drive home\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in El Paso, Texas, and Chaparral, New Mexico, hardworking communities where folks built their houses by hand and collars were mostly blue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eComprising guitarist \u003cstrong\u003eJuan \"Ockz\" Vargas\u003c\/strong\u003e, singer \u003cstrong\u003eAndre Portillo\u003c\/strong\u003e, drummer \u003cstrong\u003eBrian Dolan\u003c\/strong\u003e, and bassist \u003cstrong\u003eFreddy Baca\u003c\/strong\u003e, the entirely self-taught quartet released their first digital EP as a full band, 2021's \"\u003cem\u003eAm I sinking or Am I swimming?\u003c\/em\u003e,\" and blew up with the single \"\u003cem\u003eStress Relief\u003c\/em\u003e,\" a blast of early-Aughts indie that racked in tens of millions of streams.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter they signed with Epitaph Records in 2023 - and releasing 2024's grunge-inspired 3-song EP \"\u003cem\u003ei'll remember you for the same feeling you gave me as i slept\u003c\/em\u003e\" - they found themselves playing stages their indie idols previously shredded: Coachella, Shaky Knees, Austin City Limits, and Kilby Block Party.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince the end of the pandemic, though, the band had been dreaming up \"\u003cem\u003eas I watch my life online\u003c\/em\u003e.\" \"I started thinking about the time after the pandemic and how much things were changing,\" says Vargas. \"So the whole album is a critique of social media and the way we use the internet to distance ourselves from each other.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe resulting suite of tracks is a series of online vignettes that hammers home the band's message: the photos on your phone shouldn't be your identity; your posts aren't your inner monologue. A bigger life is lived where there's no service - in your hometown on a late night road with your friends, and on stage, where the band finally found their destination after that long drive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Epitaph","offers":[{"title":"2LP - White","offer_id":51535087796555,"sku":"R7179-6654","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":51947478548811,"sku":"R7179-0967","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/8714092806939_0e4b1a39-476c-48c8-8cf9-b48f5bc473d3.webp?v=1752233308"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/late-night-drive-home.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}