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$13.99 CD
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CAVEMAN
CoCo Beware
(Fat Possum)
 "Decide"
"Old Friend"
With a new home on Fat Possum, this buzzing Brooklyn quintet's self-released debut is now available to the masses. CoCo Beware opens with a hypnotic rhythm pattern, tom-toms and clicking sticks bolstered by a pulsing bass guitar, that builds into a reverb-heavy guitar swell, and the sweetly melodic vocals of singer-songwriter Matt Iwanusa -- but before all that, what you really hear is the room tone. Warm, natural, instantly inviting, this is the sound of five guys actually playing together. Now I'm not sure how this record really was recorded, but in an age of laptop albums, this one sounds like it was laid to tape in a big old live room. Caveman have been creating a lot of excitement with their live shows over the past few months, big, drum-heavy, distortion-drenched affairs that can fill any venue they play. And while the debut album retains much of that power -- the drumming here is so dynamic, always shifting yet always spot-on, and the songs are full of warm, embracing guitar and keyboard tones, and sweet harmonies -- what most stands out is the subtlety rather than the grandiosity. Caveman, despite their name, never bash and stomp, they just drift in and let their songs speak for themselves, with strummed guitars, gentle lead melodies, one-chord keyboard washes or quietly tinkling electric piano all finding their perfect spot amidst the entrancing rhythms, and all making way for Iwanusa's dreamy vocals.
If you can imagine the Feelies playing the Beach Boys, you are on your way to understanding the sound of this great new band. I've seen them referred to as shoegaze, and while there is a similar reverence for sound and texture at work here, and a simple joy in the psychedelic nature of haze, this music studiously avoids squall -- it's a quiet storm. At its core, Caveman writes simple, embracing pop songs, and then folds them into a quietly shifting quilt of rhythm and sound. These songs seep into your consciousness, easy on the ears, but still rich with surprises, and though it's not exactly something new, Caveman have forged a truly distinct, wonderfully engaging debut. They may not have discovered fire, but they burn. [JM]
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Bush Tetras
