4 out of 5

Produced by: Jason Carmer, Michael Rosen, Adam Myatt. and Myles Bolsen (engineers on various track)

Label: 429 Records

“El Camino Real covers the southern territories of California, where La Costa Perdida covered the north.” – from the liner notes.

I don’t know nothin’ ’bout North or South California.  I don’t know the locations name-checked here, and I can only ‘get’ the commentary from a non-locals perspective.  But from a glance at the packaging, cast in a cool blue versus Perdida’s hot reds, we might assume this is a laid back affair, something more mellow.  And it is.  Perdida was backed by a sense of rock and pop, whereas Real trades in for a dustier, more country vibe.  But it’s not so much laid back as it is accepting, lacking the silly winks frequent to lead David Lowery’s writing style (and evident on Perdida) for a mature snark; cynicism-tinged observations on the presumably weird-ass world of Cali blended with a world-weary understanding that that’s how things are.  This gives the record a light political feel at moments (which I’m probably making up) in its addressing the state of the world – ‘The Ultimate Solution,’ ‘Classy Dames and Able Gents’ – which rub songy shoulders with more distilled rants like ‘I Live in L.A.  But it’s never done to a distancing effect, as Lowery is always the everyman, and Camper’s sound on this disc, more than ever, seems to straddle generations of the group’s sound: Camp Pendleton has the swagger of pre-Key Lime Pie CVB, while the bold ‘Out Like A Lion’ has the directness of those ‘big-hit’ days of Matchstick Men and ‘Darken Your Door’ steps into the modern age with its contemplative composition and barer lyrics.

The album opens incredibly strongly, switching off between toe-tappers and head-bobbers, although the production (or engineering) feels a tad muted, requiring a couple of extra spins vs. Perdida to sink into the record.  It also stretches on a bit too long, as ‘Lion’ is an incredibly strong song for a closer but the three that follow, while each individually serving as effective codas, blend together when sequenced back-to-back.  But you get the sense, all the same, that the record is exactly the way the band wants it, asking you to give it another chance, to dig in a little.  It feels complete.  There isn’t an aspect I can absolutely say should’ve been employed a little bit more, or a little bit less.  I trust that the record is giving me the experience intended, which is pretty cool coming from a New York kid who knows nothin’ ’bout North or South California.