Damon Castillo Band: Laurel Lane

Review of 4th album, produced by Grammy-Award winner Ross Hogarth

Dec 2, 2008

US indie funk / soft rock band team up with Rami Jaffe, Sheila E., Lee Thornburg, Lon Price, and Sean Hurley on new Californian sunshine-filled studio album.

The perfect antidote to meaningless packaged pop, Damon Castillo and Co. offer simple melodies, and deep enticing vocals. With all the wholesomeness of a good home-cooked Sunday meal and the warmth and pace of a hazy summer afternoon, Laurel Lane is a feel-good album that manages to cover love, death, music, and everything in between in its 13 tracks.

It’s an ode to the eponymous studio that has welcomed and nourished their creative talents for years, and a statement of intent. This is an album created by sheer musical talent, a studio group that doesn’t covet fame and fortune and is still in love with writing, recording and performing.

Laurel Lane features a number of special guest musicians, lending an impressive endorsement to the talent and potential of DCB: Sheila E. (Prince's former protegee), Rami Jaffe (Wallflowers, Foo Fighters), Lee Thornburg (Tower of Power, Supertramp), Lon Price (Elvis Presley, Alan Toussaint, Ziggy Marley) and Sean Hurley (Alicia Keys, John Mayer) all make an appearance and lend their weight to this release. Along with Grammy-Award winner Ross Hogarth producing, this album has some major credentials.

Funk / Soul Vocals, James Taylor and Rob Thomas

‘Claim to Fame’ has a gentle arrangement that belies its cutting lyrics, which challenge and berate an industry obsessed with promoting and profiting from mediocre, fame-hungry one trick ponies.

Castillo offers an alternative, and from the opening catchy guitar rhythms of ‘Secret’, the musical prowess of this accomplished studio band is clear. They can do big sounds without being overly loud, and Castillo’s soulful vocals give weight and power to the quieter mid-sections.

‘I got this secret / Right here in my pocket / But nobody knows it’ he croons with a sexy smooth funk / soul vocal.

He mixes James Taylor and a little bit of Rob Thomas (minus the annoyingly over-pronounced vowel sounds) with a whole lot of passion and gentle soul.

Humble Lyrics and a Near Death Experience

‘All I Know’ has a catchy beat, a tumbling chorus and disarmingly humble lyrics. Meanwhile the band slow down the pace for the bluesier ‘Is it True?’, a beautiful and vulnerable track, which builds to a more intense climax than the album has seen thus far. A more varied and powerful percussive line, understated guitars and well-placed brass sections make this track one of the most interesting on the album.

‘Close Call’ is an uplifting, life affirming and melodic track, written as a result of a near miss the band had whilst on the road. Their van rolled 5 times, and the group were lucky to survive. Castillo claims the experience renewed his life motivation, reaffirming his love and choice of music as a career and lifelong passion. ‘Radio’ has a similar feel if a different motivation. It’s uplifting and upbeat, like the soundtrack to a really good day, and the lyric is full of energy.

Emotional range, Xtreme

‘Can You Fall in Love?’ is a slower sugary number, which tugs all the right emotional heartstrings. It’s followed swiftly by ‘Surrender’, a sexier track with an staccato, almost-rapped verse, and a chocolatey smooth chorus, one of the catchiest tunes on the album. ‘One Life Stand’ is the touching acoustic end-track which is all the more powerful for its humility, and gentleness. It’s simple too: piano, guitar, soft harmonies, and an Xtreme ‘More Than Words’-style tapping rhythm.

The album is diverse in terms of meaning, emotion and energy. Its rare maturity lends it huge credibility, as does the band’s rejection of commercial ambition. But yet they still seem to fall short of the exceptional, and that’s a shame because DCB have all the makings of a great band. Kristian Ducharme on keys, Jennings Jacobsen on drums, and Larry Kim on sax complement Castillo’s vocals and guitar.

Nostalgia and a Retro Feel

Laurel Lane seems full of nostalgia for a musical past, where the studio band was king, This retro feel comes through in the slight 70s jazzy quality of the brass and keyboards which permeates the album. But equally the band are in danger of sounding a little dated. At worst, ‘Your Fool’ sounds suspiciously like something you might hear while waiting for a Las Vegas speed wedding.

There is little edgy or new in the album, no unusual directions, nothing very unexpected. So while Laurel Lane makes a great soundtrack to a busy day, or something easy to chill to after that busy day, it does not provide much to demand your attention. Like the band themselves, Laurel Lane seems resigned to not making it big, despite all the authority of its heavyweight collaborators.

However listeners willing to bring the album under the spotlight will find much that seems promising, and that’s largely down to Castillo’s passion and talent. His effortless vocals are flawless throughout, and the humble simplicity of his melodies and lyrics are disarming, ironic, vulnerable (in a good way), and full of those boring little realities of life made poignant.

Honest and Principled Californian Funk / Rock

The Damon Castillo Band are part of a rare breed. They quietly and gently continue to produce music on their own terms, attracting, as yet, little commercial attention, but rather the growing support of their impressive list of collaborators. Laurel Lane is an honest and principled effort from the likeable Californian funk / rock band, though it would be nice to see something a little more stretching from these sunshine boys.