Review of CAVO’s latest album

I have an “Ultimate Favorites” playlist in my iTunes library. There are about 200 songs on it that I just never get tired of listening to. FIVE of those songs on that playlist belong to St. Louis rock quartet Cavo – “Champagne” and “Let it Go” from their major label debut release Bright Nights Dark Days and “Circles”, “Celebrity”, and the title track from their next album Thick As Thieves.

The highly anticipated deluxe edition of the latest Cavo album “Bridges” hit shelves on Feb 23. After listening to it this week, I can already tell that a few more Cavo tunes will be added to my “Ultimate Favorites” playlist. And the scariest part is that it almost never happened. Cavo was almost lost to the void of dead rock and roll bands.

It has been four years since Cavo’s last release, Thick As Thieves. In that time the band went through a period of being completely lost and lacked the desire to even keep moving forward as a band. As vocalist Casey Walker likes to tell it, at the time “there just wasn’t anything left to give.” They had tried everything. ‘More guitars,’ ‘scream it don’t sing it,’ ‘pick up the pace,’ etc, etc. It didn’t work. Not for Cavo. No one believed it anyway. So they decided to stop. It was time to put this aside. And they did.

But in time something happened. The want slowly started creeping back in. But the want this time was different. It didn’t feel the same. Something had changed. For once, it wasn’t about what someone else wanted. It was only about Casey, Brian, Andy and Chris and what they wanted. And it felt right. So, they decided to try again, but this time, their way.

Bridges is the result. It is an album full of music that reflects who they are as musicians. Not what everyone else told them they were supposed to be. They wrote over 50 songs and somehow narrowed it down to just 15 – 12 standard tracks and 3 bonus tracks including a new version of their biggest hit, “Champagne”.

The album opens with the upbeat and catchy tune “Nights.” It has great energy and reminds us of that cool Cavo sound fans have missed. Every song has a little different flavor from bluesy grooves to soaring anthems to touching ballads, but through them all there is that definite sound and style that I always loved about Cavo.

“On Your Own” is a heart-wrenching, stripped-down ballad that really showcases Walker’s melodious strengths. “Fight This War” is my favorite track because it is a lyrical gem set to music that just makes me want to close my eyes and escape the world. It’s poignant and powerful.

The bonus tracks are also a highlight of Bridges. “Wreck Me” is one of the bonus tracks and I could see it as a huge hit for the band. It crescendos and crashes in waves of interesting musical elements. The new version of “Champagne” is also a highlight. It is a slowed down, softer groove than the original and I like it.

Bridges is a triumph for Cavo. They overcame some dark demons and came out with a solid set of songs that will help the world get reacquainted with this impassioned and impressive group. Get your copy NOW!