Acclaimed band Flatland Cavalry’s anticipated new EP ‘Songs to Keep You Warm’ was released last Friday (October 28th). Produced by Bruce Robison and recorded at The Bunker in Lockhart, TX, the EP consists of six new songs written by lead singer Cleto Cordero as a source of warmth and comfort as the winter months arrive. In addition to the band, ‘Songs to Keep You Warm’ also features special guests Ashley Monroe (‘Parallel’) and Kaitlin Butts (‘How Long’).
That sense of warmth hits you from the first listen to this intriguing EP. Cordero’s vocals are mixed superbly by Bruce Robison to give you the feeling that you are in the room with the band itself and there’s a sense of intimacy in terms of the quiet yet intense nature of the songs on offer here. Cordero says about the project, ‘Historically, we have never announced a fall project, so I am excited to release a curated batch of songs that, I believe, pair well with the season of chilly overcast days, falling leaves and all things pumpkin-spiced. I hope these songs are something fans will cling to during the colder months—something to keep them warm until spring arrives!”
Running alongside that theme of warmth on this EP, you will find tiredness and loss too. The different motifs merge to create a sense of darkness at times and comfort at others, which is reflective of the seasons of Autumn and Winter themselves. On stand-out track, ‘Parallel’ a couple are trying to fight to keep their love alive across the miles of a separation, something incredibly pertinent for travelling musicians and their loved ones. Ashley Monroe’s vocals underpin Cordero’s and compliment them expertly. ‘If home is where the heart is,’ he sings at one point, ‘I’m with you night and day.’ It’s an uplifting, delightful song in which you know the couple concerned are going to be alright.
Similarly uplifting songs can be found in ‘Mountain Song’ and ‘Show Me Now Which Way to Go’. The former opens the EP in a quiet, acoustic fashion. The fiddle kicks in on the chorus and the drums on verse 2 as the song builds artfully towards a lovely fiddle-driven outro. Mountains, rivers, trees, stars and campfires are referenced along the way as Cordero and the band present an expansive view of nature in a quiet, intimate way. ‘Show Me Now……’, meanwhile, is more like a Hymnal in its sound and style. It’s another quiet intimate song about seeking guidance and looking for a way forward. A restrained, Bluesy guitar solo fits perfectly before the fiddle takes over in the song’s final third, surrounding the listener with warmth, comfort and hope.
Elsewhere on ‘Songs to Keep You Warm’, you’ll find a sense of loss and regret that can only come from a writer well versed in the foibles of relationships and tired from weeks of gigs. Indeed, Cordero says, ‘An idea came to me in June, out of the blue, late one evening at bedtime after a very long and wearisome few weeks on the road. I was in the kind of place where I was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically, and laying there in a state of surrender, the entire idea for this EP just flashed into my mind.’ That sense of loss is reflected in songs like ‘Damaged Goods’, ‘How Long’ and ‘If We Said Goodbye.’ On ‘Damaged Goods’, which is a wistful, mid-tempo song replete with plaintive fiddle, a gentle yet insistent beat guides us through a post-relationship phase in which the narrator seems unable to move on. Lovely harmonies are layered on top of raw, honest lyrics to great effect here. ‘How Long’, meanwhile, which has a lovely cadence to the melody and more honest, thoughtful lyrics, finds Cordero stating, ‘Moving on is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,’ before asking, ‘How long does a heart break?’
‘If We Said Goodbye’ comes across as a Texan version of Simon & Garfunkel, with it’s Folk-tinged melodies and beautiful, lush instrumentation featuring both an accordion and strings. It’s an intense song that touches on the themes of loss, transition and post-relationship heartbreak again.
‘Songs to Keep You Warm’ is a clever and very special project from Flatland Cavalry. I love it when a creative or songwriter has an idea for a whole project rather than just throwing a bunch of melodies together and Cleto Cordero and the band have executed an explicit concept with some style here. These songs are designed for dark, winter nights around the fire so there’s a sense of intimacy and intensity about them that is palpable from the start. Some of the songs wrap you in their uplifting arms whilst others reflect on people and places that are gone now, so not everything here is light and fluffy either. There’s an emotional heft and weight to these songs that should sustain the listener through multiple playings of the EP as they wait for brighter and better days to come. Catch the band out on tour with Parker McCollum and Luke Combs across the coming months and let them wrap you in their warm embrace!
Track list: 1. Mountain Song 2. Damaged Goods 3. How Long 4. Parallel 5. If We Said Goodbye 6. Show Me Now Which Way to Go Record Label: Self Produced Release Date: 28th October Buy ‘Songs to Keep You Warm’ now
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