The world is going to hell in a hand basket. Verizon just filed a patent for TVs that spy on you while you watch them. Billions are spent on surveillance, law enforcement and war, while more and more of our fellow humans are sinking ever deeper into the black hole of poverty and despair. Mother Nature is sending us ever more urgent warning signals, clearly telling us our obsession with ‘growth’ has become downright suicidal. But do we care? Or will we go down with the Titanic, dancing to the strains of bands like Caviare Days?
Caviare Days is a New York-based band fronted by Swedish sisters Lina and Maja Westin. The Awakening EP is written, played, recorded and produced ( by Mats Björke of Mando Diao and Jorge Elbrecht of New York based Violens ) aptly, even brilliantly, evoking mostly psychedelic/acid folk rock that harks back to the 60s and early 70s, as well as the psychedelic revival of the 80s, with some nods to 90s indierock. When I first heard this I jumped at the chance to review it. It sounded fresh and exciting. But after repeated listening, I feel like I’ve consumed the equivalent of musical junk food. It tastes great and the packaging is cleverly captivating, but in the end there’s very little nutrition…tons of artificial flavouring though. I end up feeling like Pavlov’s dog who started salivating at the first distorted guitar chord.
OK, maybe that’s not entirely fair. The Westin sisters are obviously very talented both as singers and songwriters and their harmonizing is out of this world. And the band certainly kicks ass. The guitar sound is sharp enough to cut glass, the sound overall is a very tasteful update of classic psychedelic rock and the playing is tight and confident, while the arrangements are intricate and beautifully crafted.
But the music that’s being referenced, from the Stooges to Sonic Youth, even Jefferson Starship has, well, substance. Edge. Swagger. Ideas. Above all, PASSION. Instead Caviare Days offers us…a collaboration with a New York clothing line?
‘You’ll Qualify ‘ is a siren song about a female predator honing in on her male prey and an immaculate recreation of stoner rock at its best.
‘The Awakening’, with darkly harmonized vocals and a raga rock-type arrangement, brings to mind Agnetha and Anni-Frid from Abba dropping acid and kicking it with the local hippies.
‘When the Light is Breaking’ is an exercise in beautifully restrained minimalism, reminiscent of 60’s rockfolk a la Pozo Seco Singers and even Simon and Garfunkel. Plus it features that mainstay of 60 psychedelica, the guitar solo played through a Leslie speaker!!
‘The Lucky Ones’ is grungy, buzzy garage rock with a distinct 80’s New York vibe, aided and abetted by nicely distorted vocals that channel Kim Gordon at her brattiest.
If we’re gonna go down in the flames of a self-inflicted apocalypse, we could do worse than soaking in this very clever pastiche of all things psychedelic. I for one prefer to have my musical banquet to offer a little more nutrition, a little more substance to go with the style. But you can’t beat a guitar solo played through a Leslie.
[Rating:3]
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