Callers – Reviver

Callers
Reviver
(Partisan Records)

At first listen, Reviver seems to be very jazzy and sultry. Callers provide enriched guitar licks and mysterious vocals. The splash track gives off an eclectic feel of discombobulating notes. That is until the pure vocals of Sara Lucas take hold and give the track a soul. Her vocal styling throughout the album remind me very much of Joni Mitchell and brings me back to when I was a kid.

My mom would listen to Mitchell over and over again, making me become a huge fan of hers if only by default of the constant brainwashing. Like Mitchell, Lucas uses a huge range of vocal harmonies. They complement the haunting vox of Ryan Seaton on each and every song off the album.

Callers – Heroes

The second track “Heroes,” is my favorite. It is a throwback to the late 80’s feel of a 10,000 Maniacs song. The song features catchy hooks smothered in a strong layer of sultry yet powerful vocals provided by Lucas. This track is followed by the melancholy “Your Finest” which is a very gothic-like song featuring haunting yet poetic vocals over a rhythmic drum beat.  Next up is “Crush Times” which is a cacophony of sound and emotion surrounded by stellar pitch perfect vocals and gangling guitar notes.

Although the album lulls a bit over “Long Control,” it kicks back into pace. The fast driven title track picks things up. This song reminds me of a Concrete Blonde track with its fast, late 80’s beat and blazing, high octane vocals. Lucas’ vocals truly shine though on the following track “Turning.” This highly emotional song is simple in its structure but vastly deep in lyrics and feeling.

“It’s a Ringer” comes next providing yet another highly paced track of that late ’80s sound that I loved so much.  But this is followed by the last two tracks of the album. The vocally driven and methodic “Antenna” and the fist single of the album “Howard 2 Hands” round out the album. The latter is an interesting choice for a single. It’s at times very chaotic but at the same time deeply beautiful which could make people love it or hate it.