`Ohio boys making beautiful noise` is how CAAMP have been described and the quintet of Taylor Meier, Evan Westfall, Matt Vinson, Joe Kavalec, and Nicholas Falk release their fifth album `Copper Changes Color` this month, the first for three years. It`s an album that reflects on growth and evolution where frontman and primary songwriter Taylor Meier drew inspiration from the weathering and distinct patina of copper as a powerful metaphor for the changes we experience in life.
`Millions` leads us in and it’s a fairly fast paced admission of love and hope that the object of the narrator`s affection will oblige. It has a meld of folk and Americana. American Indie pop singer and guitarist Madi Diaz joins the fellas on `One True Way` a gentle and tender reflection on love. Its sprinkled throughout with ruminations on self-doubt.
`Brush` has an underplayed percussive beat at heart with engaging banjo hues running throughout, an ode to romantic love and desire. The melodic `Porchswing` has some nice gentle riffs and is a dreamy upbeat lament to a partner who enjoys the simple things in life such as sharing a bench style swing made for two.
`Fairview Feeling` is a stripped back introspective meditative offering with just a strummed acoustic guitar initially before piano, electric guitar and drums join along with backing harmonies to flesh this track out. There`s a real ache in the vocal delivery which may well be about moving on from a relationship or just a current lifestyle. We have in `Shade` a reflection on a couple who on the surface appear to be okay but underneath all is not well, a further number that benefits from a stark stripped backing.
`Waiting Up (For You)` is a fast paced appraisal of a relationship and for some reason brought to mind The Grateful Dead`s `Touch of Grey`. I felt that the illusory `Mistakes` touched on similarities in a couple with both being insular or independent which would be a recipe that will keep them together.
`Ohio`s Ugly` is a dreamy and thoughtful musing and although the title suggests that the “Buckeye State” is unattractive, the composition is about the pursuit of somebody who could fulfil your life and brighten not only you but the federal district itself. We have a piano driven ballad with `Living & Dying & In Between` a submission about looking for love or longing for limerence, a really deep and touching piece that reaffirms a desire to live.
The release closes out with `Drive` an expansive anthemic tearjerker which recounts the overwhelming yearning and longing the chronicler has for a partner and a plea to give this relationship a chance despite how long it may last.
Although `Copper Changes Color` runs at around thirty-five minutes in length there`s so much packed into it. It teems with thought provoking lyricism on life and romance shared through some expansive ballads and other upbeat melodic earworms. It`s the kind of album that leaves you with a warm glow inside and well worth the time set aside to allow it into your psyche.
Rating 8.5/10
