Flatland Cavalry: Songs to Keep You Warm
Photo by Fernando Garcia
Imagine yourself, after a hard day, reclining by a bonfire with the one you love, wrapped in a blanket. The night is crisp and the sky is filled with stars. Taking in all of God’s natural beauty. This is the best way that I can describe Flatland Cavalry’s new EP, Songs To Keep You Warm. It is all that, in sonic form. The overall effect of the album is low key, but not to be confused with lacking in depth or content.
Unlike their previous releases, the band went with a slower paced, acoustic sound. One that carries this theme well. Cleto says of the new EP:
“...the 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 kinda 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: The studio and producer, the songs, and the theme ‘Songs To Keep You Warm.’ I hope these songs are something fans will cling to for comfort during the colder months— something to keep them warm until Spring arrives!"
The first single from this album, “Mountain Song,” is fairly common fare that you’d expect from Flatland Cavalry. However it should be said that this is one of the higher energy tracks from the whole EP.
The next track, “Damaged Goods,” has about the same pace as the previous track. This song, however, unlike “Mountain Song” where Cleto is looking out at the beauty of the world and getting lost in it, he is now looking in. He is evaluating his life, choices made, paths followed, loves and losses. He opens the song with the line
I remember when I was seventeen years old / The world seemed so big and didn’t seem so cold
It’s from this lens that he is framing the world. You note more than just a hint of sadness where he is, wondering how and when life had worn him down and where he had lost some of his joy.
“How Long,” the third track, ties into the previous track - specifically into the theme of lost love with him singing,
How long, how long, is it gonna’ take? How long, how long does a heart... break?
…and that seems to be the central idea of the song, how long until I feel like myself again.
Katlin Butts, AKA Mrs. Cordero is the featured vocalist contributing to this song.
“Parallel” is, if I had to guess, the one that hits closest to home for both Mr. and Mrs. Cordero. Chronicling how you make a relationship work over long distances and what might feel like even longer times between being together. In the song, Ashley Monroe is the featured vocalist. The song is a sweet piece where the chorus says it all:
And the miles between our hearts got us feelin’ like a livin’ hell / And lovin’ from a far is hard but we do it well / That’s what chasin’ dreams will do, till I get back to you / we’ll be livin’ lovin’ and runnin’ in parallel.
“If We Said Goodbye” is a unique piece among the songs on this EP. While the accompaniment has acoustic guitar, as you’d expect from a Flatland Cavalry song, this one has an orchestral strings section to go along with it, giving the song a sad, yet fuller, weight to it. If you are in the mood for a sad song, this would be the go-to-track on this EP.
The last track on the EP, “Show Me Now Which Way To Go,” seems to be to be a deeper, spiritual song, if not a prayer, where Cleto is asking God, “Which way now?” Something I’d like to think most of us do almost daily.
‘Cause this big world keeps spinning out of control / And my feet can’t keep keeping up, with the flow / I’m weighed down and waiting / Walking my last stepping stone / So, show me now which way to go / Show me now which way to go
This is a full band piece with a guitar and fiddle being the most prevalent instruments. However, it has a great banjo embellishment that is the musical standout of the song from the newest member of the band, Adam Gallegos.
In the end, the album achieves its goal of giving listeners, as Cleto phrased it ”something to cling to for comfort during the colder months— something to keep them warm until Spring arrives!" And for true Flatland Cavalry fans, this will become a must-have addition to their collection.
Find out more about Flatland Cavalry below:
