First Listen: A Trip with Caitlin Canty’s “Motel”
Long and winding roads. Wheels kicking up the dust. Less than ideal nightly accommodations. Pure Americana. I’ll spare you the usual “dusty, coffee-tinged, sepia toned” descriptor that is typically reserved (and overused) for songs that tell the true story of artists on the road of enduring cracked pavement lifestyles. Caitlin Canty simply has it. There is such dim lit beauty, but a visceral hesitance…a vulnerability, in her words and delivery that lures you like a moth to the flame. And if the latest single off of her upcoming Motel Bouquet is any indication, there will be loads of heartache and gorgeousness packed into the remaining tracks of this record to draw you in even more.
In a motel with a bouquet in the ice pail / you can tell them I’m doing ok, doing real well
Her conveyance of simple lines and observations offers you a glimpse into the often times monotonous repetition of a life on the road, living from motel to motel and venue to venue. Perhaps, deeper, a metaphor for the longing of something back home or being content with the relationship you share with the road and loved ones as you dance about the country.
Sonically, the fashion in which the song builds only offers further reinforcement to the singer-songwriter’s strength as a writer and singer. Her voice and words hang heavily over purposefully picked strings and bass and drum as her acoustic strums slow and even as the arrangement builds her voice never loses its luster, grace and power. Fellow songwriter, Aoife O’ Donovan’s harmonies drift in and out and where O’ Donovan’s vocals are typically idiosyncratic and stand out, the two voices dovetail and bleed together brilliantly.
Canty’s 2015 release ‘Reckless Skyline’ was high on the list of our best of the year and in listening to the first 2 singles, it is safe to say that Caitlin’s latest will follow a very similar path.
Listen today and be sure to pre-order the record on Pledge Music.
