From the palm muted guitar intro of Canopy the Seattle four piece show how good things can sound when you don’t overdo anything. There’s a near Graceland groove to the track mixed with a Flaming Lips guitar part, which sets an excellent pace for the album. It’s a departure from their previous three efforts, and a better example of what they are capable of as a performing band.
The album in itself feels a lot more complete than anything to come before. There’s a number of themes that appear to run through the songs and tie it all together nicely, the idea of moving on and turning the things that keep you up at night into memories. It’s the sound of a band very much making strides. Have To Pretend starts out with the kind of trademark guitar lead Cave Singers are known for above their other moonlit folk contemporaries and is gently joined by a chorus of backing singers. It feels like a promise of getting over something with lyrics like ‘set them up, I’ll know them down again’.
The joy of Naomi, the possible muse of the album, is in the fact it is an instant road tripping album. You can just put it on and not have to worry about skipping anything, it’s all there and it’s all good, and it has such consistency and pace you can focus on the horizon. Tracks like Week To Week and Shine are readymade for indie montage footage. By the time When The World, the final track rolls around you should be gunning it to 88, leaving any of your woes behind.
The hopes with the album, and the hope for the band is that it will open them up to a few more people. There is no reason Cave Singers shouldn’t be pegged above The Lumineers and Edward Sharpe’s of this world. The songs are powerful, the vocals rich, melodic and meaningful and the history deep.
7
Paul Schiernecker
No comments:
Post a Comment