Gen-Z rockers late night drive home officially announce their signing to Epitaph Records today.
On a mission to boost representation of Latin artists within indie music, Gen-Z rockers late night drive home officially announce their signing to Epitaph Records today. From their hometown of El Paso, Texas, the band features lead singer Andre Portillo, guitarist Juan "Ockz" Vargas, bassist Freddy Baca and drummer Brian Dolan.
They commemorate today's news with a brand-new music video for their bilingual breakout song “Stress Relief”, which has been streamed over 60 Million times to date. Evoking nostalgic pangs of 2000's garage rock revivalists such as The Strokes or Arctic Monkeys, the lofi video-within-a-video reflects the band's collective philosophy of creating your own reality.
The band comments, “We still really can't understand the success of Stress Relief... of course we are grateful, though to us we still see it as the song that we made in our bedroom. It's a very personal track, and we are just glad it was able to resonate to everyone as much as it did with us while creating it.” Check out the production video!
Backed by a strong artistic vision, the young musicians muse on the joyous occasion, “Since the start of late night drive home we knew we wanted to keep making music even if it meant we had to do everything ourselves. Signing with Epitaph now allows us more freedom in the creative process of making music. We would always watch Epitaph music videos on YouTube, from bands like Escape The Fate or The Garden. We are excited to be backed by Epitaph and are learning every day that music is an ever-evolving artform and we are happy to create freely."
Formed in 2019 by Andre (vocals) and Juan (guitar), late night drive home started as a two-person project with a concentration on lo-fi aesthetic rock. They later transitioned to angular indie rock in 2021 with melodic guitar and synth-like leads, gaining two additional members that form their current lineup.
With inspirations from a range of bands that include Wallows, The Strokes, Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys, Car Seat Headrest, and Twenty One Pilots, they reference a wide span of alternative and indie music to inform their sound. Since dropping an EP in 2021 and their debut album the following year, the band has been busy selling out headlining shows to their 900K+ monthly listeners. Take a journey with this youthful indie band as they evolve their sound and find new ways of approaching the indie rock genre.
Dec. 23, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
Jan. 25, 2024 - CDMX - Foro Indie Rocks
Photo by Jaydog and Bar
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