ROMAN CANDLE
ALBUM:
OH TALL TREE IN THE EAR
KEY TRACKS:
ONE MORE ROAD
WHY MODERN RADIO IS A-OK
BIG LIGHT
I WAS A FOOL
"every place we end up seems to lead to one more road"
Time passes, people move, things change. Change. In a nutshell, that's what this album is about.
Roman Candle hales from North Carolina but as of 2008 they now call Nashville home and after a few listens to Tall Tree it certainly sounds like Nashville crept in a bit. After living here so long, I think I'm getting a handle on the complex sound Nashville has. Rock peppered with bits of hearty folk. if you listen close enough, you can hear it all over this album. In addition, Roman Candle boasts some of Nashville's heavy hitters on the music scene including: Keegan Dewitt and The Rosebuds. As noted earlier there is a lot of talk about changes in this album. This perhaps this is derived from their move, which took place during the same year as this album, but I doubt something so simple could produce something so diverse.
One More Road, my favorite track on the album, seems to be the biggest testament to the nomadic soul with lyrics like "there ain't no reason to stay around" and "every place we end up seems to lead to one more road". It's an interesting track because it focuses on the fearlessness required to take a leap of faith, and venture out into the great world. Yet you can sense that it's not just a love of travel that's driving this fictional couple, it's also a fear of standing still: "in spite of all we've endured, the longer we hang around the longer it gets weird". Sometimes staying in one place is more frightening to some...a fear that to me suggests a deeper yearning beneath the surface.
Another track I really enjoyed was Why Modern Radio is A-OK. It's such an endearing little anecdote about the power of music and the memories we tie to it. Everyone has that one album that reminds them of an old flame or a bad time in their lives. It's Deerhunter's Halcyon Digest for me! But for the folks of Roman Candle it's songs from Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash, and Radiohead. There's some serious talent in that laundry list that will be ignored because they were songs the couple fell in love to.
One of the true gems of the album is Big Light. Here, instead of wandering across the country, it localizes the journey to the seemingly endless roads of thought in your mind. When you're not busy, your mind wanders, an affliction that can get you a little lost from time to time. If you've ever been there then you know it's not the best place to be:
Sometimes I get a little lost
And the good life is hard to see
sometimes all I can see is the cost
when the prize is standing in front of me
But the biggest all consuming thought of my generation is literally named in the song: "spending my natural prime thinking: money and time". Important and striking lyrics that especially hit home with the election looming. It seems money is always on everyone's minds these days. Or not feeling like you've accomplished enough in the short time we've been here. It's a sad ode, but sadness can be beautiful in its own way.
Breaking up, growing up, moving, all changes that produce substantial results. Lots of small changes have occurred recently in my life but I'm on the cusp of a big one. Unlike One More Road change can be frightening to me but it's one that I've learned to accept because the results are always, always worth it. In this case, this big change coming up isn't frightening...it's exciting!
LISTEN: ONE MORE ROAD | I WAS A FOOL | WHY MODERN RADIO IS A-OK | BIG LIGHT
NEXT WEEK: LOCAL NATIVES | GORILLA MANOR
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