ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country & roots music
January 15, 2025
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Lately, the biggest news coming from Los Angeles involves the tragic toll wind-blown fire has taken on the surrounding communities. Of course, our foremost concern must be with the impact on human life and property, in addition to the ravage of the natural world. As artists begin to gather for benefit concerts and recordings, and as concerts and tours are postponed, we can't help but wonder as well about the effect on the local and national music scene.
LA-based Cave Flowers had planned a record release show to coincide with the January 17th debut of Western Spectre, their second full-length album. While that event has been delayed, the record will be released as scheduled. In the footsteps of acts like Flying Burrito Brothers, the Byrds, and Gram Parsons, Andy McAlister and his band bring together strains of rock and country for a distinctly Californian sound.
Prior to convening Cave Flowers, McAlister served with the psychedelic folk act Vanish Valley. In this current iteration, the songwriter pairs with guitarist Henry Derek Elis, whose background includes several stints with metal acts. While those harder roots are well buried on Western Spectre, Elis' heavy string work largely defines the new sessions. His thick electric guitar slices through "Do You Ever Know Someone", dropping a gutty throwback solo unheard in most contemporary music. Elis displays his blues tendencies on "Invisible Tonight", another of a handful of Cave Flowers songs bearing an anthemic solo. See also the widespread keys from GospelbeacH's Jon Neimann, tipping the balance in a retro direction.
Like the band's 2020 debut, Western Spectre is recorded with the help of Chris Rondinella, who had previously worked on Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble sessions. Songs like "Good Love" bear a timeless stamp, the sort of roots 'n rock blend in which the Band traded. Andy McAlister's papery vocals even recall a younger Robbie Robertson at times: There's someone that's flying right towards you / To fill the half of your whole. The singer, who serves as a film editor in his day job, has commented: My songs are like little movies. The lyrics are like the script. There is indeed an almost cinematic expansiveness to Cave Flowers' sound, a subtle reverb and a desert-like openness. In the melodic "Living Like a Rodeo", McAlister sings, When it comes to us / You and I are broken horses. "Leave Your Light On" casts a songwriterly eye on details, the Whitesnake button on those denim jeans.
Similar to GospelbeacH, Hanging Stars, or Band of Horses, Cave Flowers are a rock act with country abilities. With Elis' guitar, drummer Curtis Pettygrove and bassist Ben Coil (along with additional organ and pedal steel from Jordan Walton) play their California country with a Stones-y rock spirit. "Good Luck Charm" grows from a chiming ballad to a six-minute arena-sized rock roar with a suitably striking vocal from McAlister. Behind chunking glam guitar and barrelhouse piano, "Garbage and Gold" is a highlight, with a chorus that reads like an ode to Cave Flowers' LA home: There's a town full of lost souls / They treat you like garbage, they treat you like gold / They give you a hearty hug before you get old. On Western Spectre, Andy McAlister and his act add their own line to the town's storied musical legend.
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