CAAMP’s Lavender Days feels just like home. In both the nostalgic and physical sense of the word. When we talk about success stories in Columbus, I feel like CAAMP can be one that is overlooked. It comes from the humble, no-showmanship nature of the group, which now consists of Taylor Meier, Evan Westfall, Matt Vinson, and Joseph Kavalec. What started as a group of two boys getting together to write some intimate and personal songs, has turned into a fever dream—a vision that has produced one of the most consistent musical textures throughout Columbus.

It’s easy to pigeonhole or peg CAAMP as indie folk. It sounds indie folk, sure. But, at its core, it’s pure rock-n-roll and punk. It’s music that’s fighting the system of the single. Lavender Days doesn’t stray from this punk aesthetic, getting to the core of the group’s formula for making some of the catchiest music without bowing down to Billboard. CAAMP will take a festival performance, sure, but prefers the lifestyle of dim-lit, bar-adjacent venues. The music the group continues to put out says no different. Every song on Lavender Days effortlessly sounds like it could be the single.

The trajectory of CAAMP is an interesting and inspiring one. It seems like there have been people nagging along the way of CAAMP’s aspirations, questioning, “Will this last forever?” But it continues to last. And the bonds within the band and musicianship become stronger with each subsequent LP release. Lavender Days is no different. It’s not too far of a departure from 2019’s By and By, but it’s clear as day that the group is only getting better with each next lick played. The latest release sees the group improve as storytellers, sequencing the always elaborately written CAAMP songs in an intimate succession that at first beckons the pessimism of love lost but shortly turns into optimistic swooning by the album’s close. 

CAAMP’s storytelling remains to be direct and colorful. A song that oozes with the blush lavender that’s displayed on the album’s cover is the extremely cute “The Otter.” On it Meier tells a charming story of being in love with someone’s daughter, much akin to an otter being in deep waters and potentially losing float. The chorus begs the question: “I don’t understand how we all began/I don’t understand how it will end.” A rhetoric, “Will it end,” is the answer that Meier comes to.

This continues with songs such as “All My Lonesome”—where Meier croons, “I’ll find you over again”—and “Light”—“Lonely are the ones who fall in love.” They come at you with back-to-back sorrow, and they don’t offer much clearance to Meier’s question. An adorable anecdote of falling for a girl who’s into indie movies and gardening on “Garden Song” aligns much with the vividness of “The Otter’s” storytelling as well.

Lavender Days, like much of CAAMP’s discography, deals with deep themes of isolation. Although the bright-sounding intro track “Come With Me Now” sets the nostalgic pace off just right, there is pain associated with heartbreak to come shortly after. And this comes through in metamorphic references to being out in nature and traveling on deserted roads. Past LPs reference campfire-esque memories, like self-titled’s “Vagabond” or By and By’s “Moonsmoke” and “Huckleberry Love.” 

This continues on and throughout Lavender Days, with tracks such as “Apple Tree Blues,” “Light,” and “Snowshoes” putting you in remote environments without necessarily even having to hit the open road. Being sequenced into these settings by Meier’s craftier-by-the-song writing and Westfall’s confident, masterful guitar and banjo playing is something that the two have been nailing since day one.

There is faith and hope in love as well. It becomes clearer by the eighth track “Lavender Girl,” which is a turning point of optimism in lyrics that seem to be searching for and finding romance. “I’ve never danced ’til I’ve danced with you, my love,” is the begin of a triumphant, hopeful final turn down Lavender Days. 

Recently, Westfall shifted away from the drums to focus more on guitar and banjo playing. I think one of the most punk things about this CAAMP release is how the banjo almost acts as a percussive element when it’s featured. The percussive components of the drums and banjo translate beautifully on this record, and I hope to see this evolve more throughout CAAMP’s musical journey. Westfall’s banjo-playing keeps sounding more and more mature, with the track “Snowshoes” being the pinnacle of this improvement.

Something else to credit in CAAMP’s musical evolution on Lavender Days are the string accompaniments and arrangements. Although not very present on the band’s past releases, songs like “Light” and “Snowshoes” soar to new romantic heights with these orchestral overtones. The texture fits in quite beautifully with the airy texture of the band. 

If CAAMP continues applying whatever formula they’ve seemed to carry over with each release the past half-decade, there’s really no telling the longevity of this band. It’s honest music from humble people who are honestly and humbly evolving. And it still evokes the same emotions maintained over all of CAAMP’s releases. Take this from “Found (Forever)” as a parting gift: “And if oceans come between us, let the Earth become the sky.”

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