Album Review - Cavo, "Thick as Theives"

Megan Purazrang
WCB Music Writer

St. Louis alternative rock four member band Cavo released their newest endeavor and third album, Thick as Thieves, to stream on AOL Music a week earlier than the anticipated date of April 10, 2012. The band formed in 2001 and despite dealing with personal life set-backs, they were able to release their debut album The Painful Art of Letting Go in 2006. In 2008 the band signed to Reprise Records, and by 2009 they released Bright Nights Dark Days bringing their recognition to the surface as they landed a slot in the Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen soundtrack with the song “Let it Go.”

The single “Thick as Thieves” drives the album and provides immediate insight to the rough and upfront style the band has established in previous records. The song was a well chosen representation and a powerful front. The lyrics synch well with the effectual riffs and loud consistent beat. The line “so sick of waiting for something to change my life” seeps through the occasional high pitched guitar melody giving emphasis to the ample meaning. The third track on the album “Hold Your Ground” is an anthem for new beginnings and clean slates. Similar to the starting essence, it carries a bristly tone and lyrics that work to create a careless motivation to all past experiences. Following suite is the song “Celebrity,” a more extrusive feature of the album. Within seconds the lyrics and bass line are vivid and catchy. Lead front man Casey Walker’s vocals are demonstrated well and easily complimented by the dynamics of the song. He starts off with a quick speed and a vibrantly rich, dark voice that leads the remainder of the paramount song on the record.

The album is separated with slower, yet not quite ballad songs such as “California” and “Never Gonna Hurt.” Both can easily be reminisced to the success of “Let it Go” with promise of repetition. A balanced record is vital and unfortunately the 11 songs tend to sound identical. At times it is hard to distinguish the commencement of a song from its initial pursue, which creates a lack of further interest and more importantly a question of ambiance. The band has had a taste of success before and can have it again, but first it may be necessary to take their lyrics to heart and start over on new ground.