I have a soft spot for music written by normal guys that play music just because they have it in them, with no delusions of future grandeur. This is certainly the case for Forever Came Calling, whose song Front Porch Sunrise appeared on my list of 25 Best Songs of 2012
As they release their sophomore Pure Noise Records LP, entitled What Matters Most, I’ve seen many Facebook posts from the band asking for fans to let them crash on couches or floors while they’re on the road and I have also seen the band perform a tiny club show in New York City last November. Both of these events, including a brief conversation I had with frontman Joe Candelaria after his performance, reminded me that these guys are not much different from me, and they’re just dudes doing what they love with no motive other than because they want to.
What Matters Most opens with the explosive August Is Home, a track reminiscent of the sounds present on Ides from the band’s 2012 full-length debut Contender. The overall sound of What Matters Most is more full and heavy than the sonic feeling of Contender, with single Mapping With A Sense Of Direction using muted speed-picking to move the band more toward a good balance of heavy, almost hardcore instrumentals and melodic pop punk vocals.
There is a new sense of maturity and experience that comes on What Matters Most, maturity that has come with nearly two years of nonstop touring since the release of Contender. This is not to say that the band is straying from their roots, but advancement is very apparent. This becomes evident with the strategic placement of the soft acoustic track Endangered Innocent – a track previously only available on the band’s 7″ split with Family Thief – right smack in the middle of the fast-paced craziness of the songs that surround it, giving the record a concrete sense of beginning, middle, and end.
There is something to take away from this album, and it could be different for different people. For me, the meaning comes from the record’s title, a self-evident explanation that the commercial appeal or the critical opinion is not, in fact, what matters most when it comes to a band like Forever Came Calling. To this band, what matters most is the music and what goes into it. And in the end, this is the best way to create a sustainable product that allows people to relate, but more importantly, to appreciate.
Be sure to ‘like’ Forever Came Calling on Facebook for updates and catch them out on tour with a number of other artists on Pure Noise Records, the remaining dates for which you can find below.
10.30 Austin, TX @ Red 7
10.31 Houston TX @ Walter’s
11.1 Ft. Worth TX @ Tomcats Wests
11.2 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
11.4 Nashville, TN @ The End
11.5 Columbus, OH @ Woodland’s Tavern
11.7 Vienna VA @ Jammin Java
11.8 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
11.9 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
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