There have been some outstanding singles leading up to this album, but often, singles are not the best metric to measure a band by. Why? Well, they are often found at the most obvious and infectious end of a band’s output, so they only tell part of the story. It is a great part, probably the most exciting part, but it is far from the whole story. It is only when you get a suite of songs in one place (“the devil’s in the details,” as the band themselves tell us) that you get a measure of a band, understand its nuances and nature.
And so, although “To Feel The Sun” kicks things off with that perfect balance of rock groove and indie infectiousness that a single benefits from, “The Last Time” is more what I’m looking for from the album experience. Reflective, full of longing, slightly melancholic, heartfelt, a blend of James Taylor’s iconic “Fire and Rain” sentiment and the tone of The Rainmakers at their most soul-searching.
Such more telling, more tantalizing songs abound between the songs that have already had their day in the sun. “Temptation Eyes” is full of underplayed textures that, when taken together, create ornate sonic weight and clever changes in dynamic. “Great Again” is a poetic and poignant piano ballad, although the term ballad doesn’t seem sufficient for its clever sonic threads. The title track is brilliantly nostalgic, love-lorn, and graceful.
Having mused on the idea of singles being the more obvious choices from a body of work, I would have to say that, in a more discerning and appreciative world, a more substance over style, less more-of-the-same music scene, any song from El Camino Adios could have made it as a single. Each track is good enough to stand on its own two feet, and a world that appreciates such songs in a public, chart-bothering, money-earning sort of way is the world I want to live in.
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