CD Reviews

Caveman | Coco Beware

Magic Man! Records/ORG Music (2011)

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 16, 2011

3.5 Stars

Hold up on that Brooklyn backlash just yet, there's still some sweet music coming out of the trendiest and most despised of the five boroughs. Take the five-piece Caveman — which include Jeff Berrall, bassist for NYC's now-defunct Elefant — who were buzzed about like mad at last month's CMJ appearance after rolling out their bouncy instrumentation and earnest melodies, reminding everyone why acts like Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses were so dreamy in the first place. Part of Caveman's appeal, other than having the coolest debut album title in recent memory (a respelling of the moniker of the '80s WWF superstar), is making the complicated simple. Meditations on love, life, and Werner Herzog ("Easy Water" draws inspiration from Fitzcarraldo) all boil down to a series of chill moments. "Thankful" is an exquisite highlight, with a chamber-pop vibe and a sincere chorus that pulls you right in with an addictive rhythm. With multi-layered harmonizing that's all over the place, it's the kind of music that would have happened if Brian Wilson had stayed behind the wheel of the Beach Boys' wood-sided station wagon instead of climbing into that studio sandbox when his brain went askew. Easy as it should be to hate on these guys — Caveman openly admit to being inspired by drum circles — they're just too gratifying a listen.

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Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Brooklyn, CD reviews

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