For The Driver Era, music can’t – and shouldn’t – be forced. The band, formed by brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch in 2018 while on tour with their former group R5, aims to embrace the present moment, creating songs that reflect each experience and feeling as it comes. It’s a philosophy that pervades all of the duo’s releases, from their debut single “Preacher Man” to their 2019 album X to their latest effort, Girlfriend. The new album, written and produced by Ross and Rocky in their home studio, showcases a variety of influences like INXS, Bruce Springsteen and Prince. It’s an album connected by its creators, rather than an overall theme. In between polishing off the new songs and hitting the road, Ross is also a critically acclaimed actor (he drew rave reviews for his title role in the serial-killer biopic My Friend Dahmer and recently starred in Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina).