Quick! Name your favorite driving song. Is it by Deep Purple? Sammy Hagar? Red Rider? Sure, all those are mainstays on FM radio, but there’s ample opportunity to add new ones to your list. How about something from the band Phalanx Genesis?
According to the group’s Facebook page, “We write unique rock songs with innovative music and lyrics, which are then professionally produced and recorded with very talented musicians.” There’s an American component to the writing, but the band (and producer) are from Belgium, a twist you wouldn’t realize unless you dig in.
The album is called “Music for Boomers,” but the topics are all about automotive life: certain body styles, laments about mechanical troubles, drag racing for 1,320 feet (or, in their case, 400 meters), praise for the manual transmission, a love letter to your favorite flivver (which may be a certain unloved Porsche), an homage to surf instrumentals (after all, many of those bands sang about fuel-injected Stingrays and little Cobras), a witty ditty about relying on YouTube, and a song that would be at home on the soundtrack to “Death Race 2000.”
Many of the songs have a 1990s feel, which doesn’t quite feel Boomer-ish, but there were many Boomers playing the hits of the moment, so why not? It’s all professionally done — no garage band here. My personal faves include “Vintage Car Surf, “Manual Purist,” and the ever-clever “YT Mechanic.” Will they join Golden Earring on your list? Only you can tell, so tell us!