Frontwoman and guitarist Hayley Crusher Cain of Southern California glitter trash punks Hayley and the Crushers grabs the steering wheel with “She Drives,” an ode to open road freedom and leaving angst in the rearview mirror. Fizzy, frothy, and still a little dangerous, Hayley and the Crushers offer up a truck load of bold, bad girl fun. Produced by legendary punk producer Paul Roessler (TSOL, Josie Cotton, Richie Ramone) at New Wave icon Josie Cotton’s Kitten Robot Studios in LA, and mastered by Mass Giorgini (Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Alkaline Trio) at Sonic Iguana Studios, the track is a sticky mid-summer joyride paved by the kind of breezy retro-pop-rock perfection so sorely missing from today’s radio dial.

On the inspiration behind of the deceptively bubbly tune, Cain says, “I wrote ‘She Drives’ in the bathtub, after getting a stressed-out call from a friend who had just had a massive fight with her partner. This friend of mine is known to drive like a bat out of hell on a normal day. But after this particular fight, she drove and just kept driving, eventually ending up in Malibu. I was inspired by the idea that we can’t outrun our worst feelings, but it sure is human nature to try.” 

A sunny follow up to the band’s June 2021 single “Cul-de-Sac,” “She Drives” is the product of Hayley and the Crushers’ recent partnership with L.A.-based Kitten Robot Records. Lyrically inspired by 2020’s COVID-19 lockdown with imagery lifted from Ira Levin’s 1972 novel The Stepford Wives, “Cul-de-Sac” features dark guitars, wormy hooks and the band’s soaring candy-coated vocals locked and loaded. The accompanying video is a foreboding, technicolor nightmare that slowly closes in on the viewer. Safe to say, the past two singles showcase the band’s surprising emotional diversity.

Hayley “Crusher” Cain leads her mischievous Crushers (bassist Dr. Cain ESQ and drummer “Action” Benjamin Cabreana) with a wink and a snarl, a modern-day Gidget with a budget model Gretsch. “She Drives” features friends of the band Geoff Palmer and Trenton Class on guitar as well as Roessler on backing vocal duty. Bassist Dr. Cain ESQ also commanded the glockenspiel for added sparkle. Signed to Cotton’s Kitten Robot Records earlier this year, the band is working on their follow-up to full-length albums Vintage Millennial (2020) and COOL/LAME (2018).

Photo Courtesy: Thomas Ignatius