Whether you’re driving or just enjoying the ride there are tunes that help while away the time getting from here to there. The term ‘drive time’ used to refer to that special captive-in-cars radio audience that could nonetheless shift stations. So DJs needed to serve up some pretty solid stuff, kinda like the four acts we feature here.

Steve Marino’s Too Late to Start Again has been my go-to ‘heading home from work’ album this fall. From the dreamy pop confection “Satisfy You” opener to the sweet DIY acoustic cover of Teenage Fanclub’s “I Don’t Want to Control You” that wraps things up, you won’t find a much more perfectly put together guitar pop album than this. The tunes vary but the track order makes the whole group gel as an album. Take the transition from the sunny pop feel on “Satisfy You” to the slightly more Beck-like dirge pop groove animating “Comedown.” You hardly notice the shift, so effortless is the change. Then the mood lightens appreciably with the “Got You (In My World Now)” Sugar Ray vibe and the basking-in-the-sunshine, smile-inducing “Kingdom.” The subtle background vocals on the latter really lift the song. Not that the record shies away from a bit of rocking out. “Tune You Out” sounds like bouncy, tuned-down version of a classic punk pop song. “Love You More Than Before” borrows distinctive psych pop elements, married with some languid Marshall Crenshaw lead guitar lines. “Blue” builds a buzz of sound around a great lead guitar hook, slipping into Swervedriver territory here and there. Other influences include Elliott Smith on “Leaning Off the Sun” and Teenage Fanclub on “Pins and Needles.” Trust me on this one, you’ll be starting Too Late to Start Again again and again and again …

I’m a bit late to the Taylor Young Band scene but 2020’s Mercury Transit just fell across my radar and I’m loving it’s relentless positivity and evocation of 1980s indie sounds. The album presser describes band leader Taylor Young as ‘Ted Lasso with a Telecaster’ and there is indeed something irrepressibly smile-inducing about this collection of songs. There’s jangly lead guitar, hushed candy-coated vocals, and hooks to spare. Dip into album opener “Get Around” and all the basic pieces that make this album great are there. And there’s something else, a faint echo of The Smithereens here and there, particularly Pat DiNizio’s distinctive vocal phrasing. I hear it on “Make You Want to Stay” and “Five Cents,” the latter pulling in some Nick Lowe-isms with the rumbly lead guitar intro. Bands like The Popravinas and Grapes of Wrath also come to mind. Or there’s a Blue Rodeo freewheeling rootsy pop feel to “Blue Eyed,” especially that great guitar lick that ties everything together, and a Sam Roberts finish all over “Out of My Mind.” Stylistically there’s loads of variety here: some soul pop vamp on “Shine on Me,” a 1980s FM melodic sheen to “Rattled,” and plenty of kick up your heels poppy country rock with “Daze of the Week” and “Drinkin.” And yet TYB marks everything with its own distinctive band sound. Should be hit single here, “Wrong Place, Wrong Time” for sure. Some seriously jaunty jangle that gets into your head – in a good way.

Another late-find band for me is New Jersey’s Classic Traffic. I was just about to start raving over their 2022 self-titled debut when I discovered they’ve got a newer release available and it is just as good. There’s a tension at the heart of this project that creates a groovy kind of alchemy, combining blistering guitars and hushed, soothing vocals. The ‘tude is very Twin Peaks or Parquet Courts though the sound is more Bob Mould. From the debut make sure to check out the opening cut “Solo Show.” Now that’s how you anchor a song in a killer hook. “Ten Minute Window” is pretty special too, like Teenage Fanclub with Marshall stacks. The new album is You Want It? We Got It! and boy do they ever. “Morbid Obit” launches this record on it’s rocking yet subdued trajectory. You know this would be live treat. Then “Crash Test Buddy” ups the melodic current in an addictive head boppin’ manner. “Paranoid Perfectionist” slows things down a bit with a solid rhythm guitar lurch. Then “High Wire Guy” again sounds like a cranked up Teenage Fanclub. The band do slow things down on occasion, like on the brooding “Return to Sender.” Singles? Definitely the breezy yet punchy “Lonely Palm Reader” and the almost pop punky “Out To Me.” You’ve got two solid slabs of noisy power pop album-age to enjoy here. But my hunch is that these tunes would really come alive in person. A Toronto tour stop can’t come soon enough for yours truly.

Chicago’s Rolling Numbers are a bit of an enigma. There’s stark 1980s lead guitar work tempered by a variety of subtle synth keyboard interventions, all in support of tunes full of mellow yet engaging melodies. “Figure It Out” kicks things off and here the solid rhythm guitar is very Moody Blues 2.0 or even The Shins. The contrasts really come out next with “Shimmering Eyes,” a song defined by intriguing yet restrained keyboard and guitar work as well as a subtle, sneak-up-on-you, Macca-worthy melodic hook. I hear a bit of McCartney circa 1970s Wings on “Underwater” too. Other tracks have faintly reminiscent vibes, like the Men at Work reggae feel to “The Lonely Night,” the Big Country-ish lead guitar flourishes on “I Don’t Mind,” or the Fleetwood Mac-like vocal hit of “Home Again.” Then there’s “It Takes Me Back,” your basic full-on country workout. And yet I’m struck by how the band nails a 1980s melodic melancholia that marked the soft rock of that decade on tracks like “Best of Luck” and “Be With You Tonight.” The former has an aching quality that ebbs and flows, vocally mournful then uplifted by the sometimes searing lead guitar work. The latter is a brilliant mix of 1980s synth keyboards, stark lead guitar lines, and oh-so melancholy vocals. This kind of stuff used to own AM radio once upon a time. I used to miss its exquisite polish – now I don’t have to.

Here are four new regulars for your drive time playlist. Click on the hotlinks above to pick your favourites.