Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Cayetana, Nervous Like Me, 2014

Album Review

About a year ago now (September 20th, 2013), I went to Asbury Lanes to see Laura Stevenson. I'd really been loving her record, and the show just kind of turned up on the schedule. Our friends Dentist and Paper Streets were also on the bill, so attending was a no-brainer. Also on tap for the evening was a Philly trio called Cayetana. I'd never heard of them before; and, I'll admit, I had one of those "Ugh. Did we really need four bands? Let's just get to the headliner" moments going into the night. Pretty soon into Cayetana's set, though, that transformed to one of those "Wow. I just heard and really liked a band I didn't even know about until a few minutes ago" moments. Those are fantastic and beautiful moments. I've been waiting for Cayetana's record ever since.

Cayetana's debut LP Nervous Like Me came out yesterday on Tiny Engines and quickly vaulted itself to a position among my favorite records of the year. Maybe it's the fact that, according to the band's press materials anyway, the members came together with very little experience playing in bands or even playing their instruments, but there's this feeling of honesty and sincerity that blankets the whole record. And whatever level of musical experience each member originally brought to the table, they all -- special mention should go to Allegra Anka on bass -- perform more than admirably here.

Opener "Serious Things Are Stupid" starts off with a simple chord progression before we hear Augusta Koch's vocals for the first time. "I came here alone, and I'm gonna leave that way." Not quite snotty. A flutter here. A crack there. Totally endearing and one of the highlights of this band's sound for me. The chords get bigger. Anka and drummer Kelly Olsen come in to make things just a bit more thunderous.

"Dirty Laundry," one of the album's early singles, adds keys and bounces on top of Anka's bassline like some 80s post-punk passed through the filter of 2014 DIY. "Mountain Kids" reveals some of the same influences, I think, with its distant, shimmery guitars and rolling drums.

Things get slightly more manic on "Scott Get The Van, I'm Moving." You can almost see Koch straining as she screams "The hardest part of moving out is that I remember moving in!" Koch goes for broke again on another early single "Hot Dad Calendar," bursting as she sings, "And I know. You really wanna make it out alive." The song reminds me of Cayetana's (at least partial) Philly brethren Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and their own 2005 stroke of brilliance.

Album closer "South Philly," at about three and a half minutes, is the album's longest track and a major standout. I remember being struck by it during Cayetana's live set. I even went out and found it on the band's early demo release. Here it gets a sweeping almost epic treatment. That bass again as Koch sings, "I watch you daydream about God. Are you daydreaming still? But what has He done for you?"

I've seen a lot of press about Cayetana the last few months. They're definitely making a splash, but there's always so much floating around on the musical side of the Interwebs that I'm not sure I would've necessarily paid attention to it had I not seen Cayetana play that night in Asbury Park. It would have been really sad if I missed this one. Make sure you don't.

Oh, and happy birthday to Augusta Koch on September 20th.

Cayetana's Augusta Koch at Asbury Lanes, 9/20/13

Nervous Like Me is out now on Tiny Engines.

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