The prolific Lanny Durbin is back with the fifth album from his (mostly) one-man band, Local Drags. Out on Stardumb Records (which has been with Local Drags from the start), Cool If We Split? finds Durbin moving from the darker energy of 2024's City In A Room to a more melody-driven pop-rock approach in line with his earlier work. He has always had quite a knack for straddling the worlds of power pop and middle-of-the-road singer-songwriter style guitar rock, and that's where he's living on this record. The pace and feel are very laidback — allowing the words and melodies to gently sink into your skull. But the guitars still pack a punch, and the hooks are undeniable. These are serious songs about heavy topics, yet they don't fancy themselves as too important to be great pop songs. This is about as "melody forward" as music gets. Lanny Durbin is really establishing himself as a master craftsman of this "power pop for grownups" genre, and Cool If We Split? captures him in fine form.
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