REVIEW: Cayetana's "New Kind of Normal"

Cayetana’s second full-length, New Kind of Normal kicks off with the banger, “Am I Dead Yet?” It features those existential, introspective lyrics about hopelessness and depression that we all love so much. There’s something special about such an upbeat song that makes you wanna jump on your bed, but paired with gut wrenching emotional lyrics that are almost too relatable. Singer Augusta Koch asks repeatedly, “Is there a way out of this?”

The opener rolls into the first single, “Mesa.” “Mesa” appeared on Cayetana’s split with Melbourne’s Camp Cope in January 2017. The song is catchy, with punchy drums and a noodly riff, paired with those raw and poetic words that Koch expresses so openly. A song like this precisely displays the band’s vibe as a whole.

“Side Sleepers,” one of the album’s slower songs, seems to focus on the difficulty of navigating one’s own mental illness while maintaining a relationship. Koch expresses feelings of discontent and wonders simply if it’s possible for someone to remain at the side of a person experiencing depression.

“Will you love me still when I can’t get out of bed? Will you love me still with these sick thoughts in my head?”

The last track is floaty and hypnotizing, a perfect way to end an album with such a nice mix of upbeat bops and slow, unhurried tunes. It features a sleepy guitar and ambient background noises, with Koch’s soft but powerful voice echoing over top. “The world is wide/ the world is wide/ and I forget that all the time.” The song ends with the sound of a car driving away, a plane in the sky, a faraway bird chirping, closing the album softly, contentedly, like an exhale.

Check out Cayetana at one of the tour dates below, and stream New Kind of Normal on Spotify now.

5/9 - Durham, NH @ University of New Hampshire
513 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Vassar College
5/26 - Lakewood, OH @ Mahall's
5/27 - Howell, MI @ Bled Fest
5/28 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
7/6 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
7/7 - Lancaster, PA @ Lizard Lounge ~
7/8 - Belmar, NJ @ Paul's Tavern ~
7/9 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott ~
7/17 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place ^

* Record Release Show
~ w/ Worriers & Camp Cope
^ w/ Snail Mail

FULL TRACK LIST:

1. Am I Dead Yet?
2. Mesa
3. Too Old For This
4. Bus Ticket
5. Easy To Love
6. Side Sleepers
7. Certain For Miles
8. Phonics Failed Me
9. Grumpy's
10. Follow
11. Dust
12. World