As New Yorkers searched for reprieve from one of the most scorching hot weekends of the summer, Bowery Ballroom was a great place to be. Making a stop at the charming Lower Manhattan club was late night drive home, the indie-pop outfit hailing from El Paso, Texas. After catching the attention of indie enthusiasts with their 2021 single “Stress Relief” and its associated EP Am I sinking or Am I swimming?, the band has taken off, making their way through the El Paso music scene and beyond, signing with Epitaph Records, and making their first major festival appearance at Coachella last year.

All the while, they were pushing forward into their own unique sound, culminating in their debut album, as i watch my life online. The album tackles the distinctly modern problems and perspectives that come with growing up and growing a career on the internet. Social media is a tricky double-edged sword for musicians; it opens doors of possibilities for artists who might never get a spin on the radio or a moment on TV, and it gives the artist-fan relationship an entirely new dimension. But it’s also isolating and parasocial, and sometimes even creatively stifling for artists who would rather spend time playing their music than filming TikToks about it. The internet is indulgent escapism and crushing reality at once, a reflection of reality and an imitation of it. Identity takes on new meaning in the digital age.

Thankfully, we still have live music to remind us that culture lives on. There are few better places to spend a night than a small, intimate venue with a talented band on stage. Listening to late night drive home perform their newest songs, it couldn’t be more clear that this is music crafted through the influence of all of the indie-pop-rock greats of the last couple decades. The tracks “as i watch my life online“ and “terabyte“ immediately recall The 1975’s Notes on a Conditional Form, while the upbeat guitars on “day 2“ and “she came for a sweet time“ would fit right in on a Strokes record. That’s not to say that LNDH are derivative, though; their confessional lyricism, the energizing bass and drums of Freddy Baca and Brian Dolan, all brought together by singer Andre Portillo’s recognizable voice, results in art that the band can proudly call their own.

Two strong openers set the stage for late night drive home: Babebee, with their adorable flower-shaped guitar and bedroom-hyperpop songs, and ALEXSUCKS, who were silhouetted by flashing white lights as they showed off their garage-rock sound. By the time the main act took the stage, the crowd was ready as ever. Set pieces, including a door, window, and lights with a warm orange glow, made the stage feel like home, though the band’s energy was more than enough to fill the space. No matter how much of our lives are documented online, when you’re standing in a room with several hundred other people, making brief connections with the strangers surrounding you, listening to the music come straight from the instruments and microphones, nothing quite compares.

late night drive home’s tour isn’t over yet: touring the west throughout August, they end the U.S. tour with a hometown show before heading across the pond for the Reading & Leeds festival in the U.K.

Keep up with the band on their socials: Website | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube