In life – as well as in music – everything is about balance. The entire musical spectrum cannot simply boil down to one idea; sure, the incendiary sparks of excitement which can be found in the best punk records can feel like a new reason to live when caught by ears ready to receive them, but equally important is the other calmer and more temperate side of life. Every yin needs a yang and incendiary sounds need temperate ones to help offset them. That's just one of the reasons why Caveman's self-titled sophomore album should be essential listening, but there are many, many more.
Similar to how California Wives quietly exploded last year (but with nowhere near the level of Pavement-informed bombast in that band), Caveman come on easily and with little of the earnest posturing that so many other bands wear like some kind of contrived accessory; from note one, Caveman insists that listeners come to them as “Strange To Suffer” opens this record with more than a bit of care. It might sound like a less than impressive opening in print but, in fact, “Strange To Suffer” is the kind of song which is capable of inspiring imaginations easily – and the really cool thing about Caveman is that the sort of imagination inspiring trend present in "Strange To Suffer" continues through the other ten drowsy-fantastic songs on the record as well. Throughout each song, guitarist Jimmy Carbonetti and keyboardist Sam Hopkins set up perfectly dense waves of sound which wash over listeners and convert them to fans effortlessly – without really exerting any truly remarkable effort at all – while drummer Stefan Marolachakis both contains the sound as well as guiding it along with beats which are almost metronomic in their constancy. While some readers who haven't been personally exposed to these sounds might question if such a presentation isn't boring, in fact it's very, very soothing; songs like “Chances,” “Over My Head,” “Never Want To Know” and “What's The Time” are actually able to steal time away with their sleepy tempos and singer Matthew Iwanusa's sighing, drowsy vocal delivery, and listeners will have no trouble sinking into each song as they arrive, and marvel at them as they crest and then recede, gently.
After “The Big Push” (and the unlisted track “Push”) gives up one last synth-saturated tide for listeners to ride, they'll realize they've been won by Caveman; it's an excellent experience. True, it's not a record that everyone will want to listen to every day but, for a change of pace guaranteed to soothe nerves, it could be just the ticket on the right day.
Artist:
www.cavemantheband.com/
www.facebook.com/CavemanBand
www.twitter.com/CavemanBand
Download:
Caveman – Caveman – “In The City” – [mp3]
Album:
Caveman's self-titled album is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
