Words: Juliet Kozlow
Cayucas’ sophomore release, Dancing at the Blue Lagoon, is an album that starts out strong, but fades in a pleasant way into something just – good. Opening with a track that builds more as the intro to an ambitious movie soundtrack than anything else, “Big Winter Jacket” brought me immediately back to childhood days in Florida spent driving to Disney or Clearwater for some summer sand, a CD from my mom’s childhood playing through the speakers. A bit of irony, when you consider the title. Echoes as strings layered and low brass sang with steady tympanis- the track is a present wrapped up in a bow with a seamless, sensible transition into their lead single.
“Moony Eyed Walrus” is made to be played at summer festivals, bouncing between lively and almost quaint in each transition from verse to chorus. This track tells me why a few years back they fit so well with Young the Giant in early 2014, definitely rivaling the talent of their former tour mates with this release. “Hella” jogged my memory of the show – I wrote previously in my review of that night that it should be an essential summer playlist song, and I certainly still agree.
“Champion” is around where the album begins to drag. Cayucas reminds me of the nostalgic way that movies represent flashbacks. Sonically, they’re a modern Beach Boys – trying out a thousand different sounds to find the ones that best represent their rose tinted lyrics.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202966729″ /]However, every Beach Boys song, despite a difference in structure and so forth- sounded like a Beach Boys song. Cayucas narrowly misses this as the album plays on. While each song has a few similarities, they blur together. I listened to this album how I listen to all of my favorites (while I run and drive) but every time, I’d find myself lulled by the music, unable to recall a particular song I enjoyed the most.
It’s not necessarily bad, though. There’s no song that I wrinkle my nose to or skip and Dancing at the Blue Lagoon isn’t a boring album in any capacity. Whereas Bigfoot, Cayucas’ last release, had several tracks that stood out and had clear reasons why I still add them to playlists today, only the first few tracks off of Dancing at the Blue Lagoon seem to resonate with some piece of me.
The best part is I’m not disappointed by any means in that. Those four tracks show exactly what I look for in an indie band’s sophomore release: that they’ve challenged themselves and tried something new, while still keeping whatever uniqueness they brought to the table that made me pay attention in the first place. Dancing at the Blue Lagoon may not be my favorite release from Cayucas yet, but it does make me excited to listen for my favorite release to come from them soon.
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