September 16th, nearly one year since the release of their sophomore studio album ‘Girlfriend’, alt-pop band THE DRIVER ERA share their new project, ‘Summer Mixtape’, out everywhere today. Featuring 11 brand new tracks – including the Rolling Stone-approved dance track ‘Keep Moving Forward’ (feat. Nikka Costa), the nostalgic summer single ‘Malibu’, and the sexy new single ‘Fantasy’, ‘Summer Mixtape’ is currently available for streaming and purchase on limited edition white vinyl, cassette, and CD formats. Stream/Buy ‘Summer Mixtape’ Here.

If previous release ‘Girlfriend’ is the album that was penned and produced during a time where Ross and Rocky were solely with their loved ones, ‘Summer Mixtape’ is the record that explores the thread that ties adventure, nightlife, and intimacy together. In ‘Summer Mixtape’, a cathartic kaleidoscope of sonics, influences, and themes flicker throughout, proving to be a listening experience that differs from the last two records. “We always like to express ourselves in a raw, honest way, but this release goes a little bit harder,” describes Rocky. “With Summer Mixtape, these are songs that are a nod to that state you want to be in — having fun and enjoying life with the people you care about”.

While ‘Malibu’ explores the feeling of firsts, the band’s latest single ‘Fantasy’ is about what comes after — intimacy and understanding. “This song was actually one that was in a folder of unreleased songs we were going through when we were session surfing,” says Rocky. “Ross started singing the chorus and it just clicked.” “It’s a song that sounds like it’s about ‘sexy time,’ but more importantly it’s about the deep nature of intimacy and learning about how it can grow,” describes Ross. “Once you’re comfortable and intimate with a certain individual, you think you know everything about them but you’re constantly learning new things about them. It’s a beautiful thing that I’ve learned about monogamy; some think of commitment as confining but I find it to be freeing. ‘Fantasy’ is a song that represents that”.

The official video for ‘Fantasy’ will be premiering on Youtube at 5PM BST today. Watch ‘Fantasy’ Official Music Video Here

Anticipated by recent single ‘Malibu’ and the funky cut ‘Keep Moving Forward’, ‘Summer Mixtape’ is the follow up to the band’s second album ‘GIRLFRIEND’, which has seen support by the likes of Notion who praised the album as “their most inspired – and sonically diverse – body of work yet”, while Clash defined their sound as “vast alt-rock sound, with an endearing soulful groove”, with DORK praising “their ability to meld different genres while retaining that distinctive pop feel”, calling ‘GIRLFRIEND’ “a textured, smart modern pop rock record”.

Known for what Clash called, “intimate, high energy live show”, the band will bring their GIRLFRIEND WORLD TOUR to the UK – headlining for the first time ever – two nights at London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on October 4th and 5th, before heading to Birmingham’s O2 Institute on October 7th and Newcastle’s University on October 8th. The tour will take the band to Glasgow’s O2 Academy for the only Scottish date, before touching Ireland to headline Vicar Street in Dublin on October 11th, before closing the UK leg of their worldwide tour at the Academy in Manchester. For tickets and VIP packages, please visit www.thedriverera.com.

Since their inception four years ago with their debut album ‘Preacher Man’, The Driver Era have rocked up an impressive 300 million streams and 29 million combined social media followers, have released one studio album, three EPs and a series of critically acclaimed singles. With the heavily-anticipated ‘Summer Mixtape’, and an upcoming world tour – during which they will play shows in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and UK for the first time ever – The Driver Era are set to further their reach and become one of the defining bands of their generation.

THE DRIVER ERA UK TOUR DATES

OCT 4 – LONDON – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
OCT 5 – LONDON – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
OCT 7 – BIRMINGHAM – O2 Institute
OCT 8 – NEWCASTLE – University
OCT 10 – GLASGOW – O2 Academy
OCT 11 – DUBLIN – Vicar Street
OCT 12 – MANCHESTER – Academy