Caveman - Otero War

Pitchfork 52

Otero War exists in two alternate universes: the first is a sci-fi dystopia helpfully described by Caveman on their website and illustrated by Marc Ericksen, the guy behind the cover of Mega Man 2 and, more importantly, Twitter cult favorite Bad Dudes. But that’s not the real story here. Like the two Caveman albums before it, Otero War could be an accessory to a generic and fictionalized network-tv retelling of “indie rock in the 2010s.” And as with the soundtracks from any season of “Nashville,” “Empire,” or “Vinyl,” Otero War is a collection of interchangeable, time-stamped simulacra that’s enjoyable on a superficial level, but mostly exists for the greater discussion of “who is this one based on?”

The timetable for making an indie rock album dictates that Caveman will always be playing catch up. Their debut CoCo Beware boasted folk harmonies, candy-coated keyboards and chillwave’s ironic referentiality; in other words, Caveman were a quintessential 2009 band in 2011. Meanwhile, the best song on 2013’s Caveman shared its title with Chromatics’ best song. Given this pattern, Otero War should logistically be cribbing off 2014’s year-end lists.

And yes, to the degree that Volkswagen’s ad agency were once influenced by Beach House, singles “Never Going Back” and “80 West” are influenced by the War on Drugs and the non-singles are actually styled after Singles. Being a knockoff brand isn't all bad, though: Sure, you have to get rid of the guitar solos, the engrossing ambient interludes and Adam Granduciel’s compelling battle with emotional devastation and perfectionism; but if you don’t the time to get Lost in the Dream, Caveman offers a decent smoke break of Boss-gaze in nearly half the time.

Matthew Iwanusa certainly can't be said to lack commitment: He puts his back into this, foregrounding his brassy, sterling vocals amid a polished, flawless-sounding mix. If Iwanusa wanted to front an arena-ready Coldplay acolyte, or appear on The Voice as the “edgy” rock guy, he probably could. Or, he could just as easily be a jingle writer or the new Billy Joel for all we know, as the broad melody of “80 West” immediately triggers the thought of an impending Bosom Buddies reboot.

Which, right—that sci-fi plotline. The lyrics of Otero War are so damn vague (“it’s just the way I am, what a feeling”) they could retrofitted into basically any kind of hero’s journey. For the most part, Caveman songs embody the kind of implacable, but manageable discontent that mostly drives people to buy stuff to snuff it out. Call it “sync-indie” or “montage-core” or, more accurately, corporate rock.

None of this makes Otero War bad music; Caveman have developed their craft, and all of those 3 PM slots at summer festivals aren’t gonna fill themselves. And yeah, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Brooooce—every generation tends to advocate for music they may have uncritically absorbed as a captive audience. Catch a snippet of “Never Going Back” or “Life or Just Living” in the wild and it’ll be worth a Shazam search. But how often is anyone a member of a captive audience in 2016?Otero War is a centrist indie rock record at a time when a center doesn’t really exist and there are vastly more interesting and inclusive things going on just outside the frame. But if you happen to miss out on all of these bands at the moment, not to worry: the next Caveman album will probably sound just like them.