by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The members of Caution have uprooted from Maryland and DC to the Midwest and the South, with the duo split between Minneapolis and Birmingham, but other than a new place on the map, the band are still making the same endearing noise pop that you fell in love with on their self-titled EP. Their latest album, Arcola, maps the very distance between the members, with Arcola, IL being the half-way point between their respective towns. Due out April 29th via Born Yesterday (Spirits Having Fun, Mesh, Landowner), the album is a testament to the separation the band feel working so far apart, but the pair sound deeply connected and in synch throughout their full length debut. The band expand on the both the hooks and the haze of their sound, drawing deeper into raw distortion and minimalist pop than ever before while writing soaring choruses and jangly earworms. The duo of Cash Langdon and Nora Button are well versed in the Jesus and Mary Chain catalog, but they’ve found a way to make their sinewy mix of dissonance and sweetness their own, with elements of shoegaze, dream pop, and art rock electronics all lending itself into their syrupy bleak pop.
Following the dreamy disorientation of lead single “Fuck It Up,” the band whip things into a frenzy with “Hand That Looks Like Mine,” a song Langdon wrote about having thoughts of self-distrust, warranted or not, but Button interpreted to be about the act of performing, giving it a duel meaning to go with the band’s shared vocals. With a frantic tempo, this one is all momentum, as the drum machines and programmed claps steadily race forward against guitars that opt for a slower jangle, permeating the beat instead of trying to keep pace. The glue of it all is the duel vocals, trading off verses and coming together to harmonize on the hook. It’s immediately catchy, with the pair offering a sense of sweetness to the otherwise raw tonality of their power-pop jangle. The video finds Caution out on the town, performing and generally having a great time being together.