The Calling
Camino Palmero
RCA
The Calling is an unbelievably good band, especially considering their young ages. Singer Alex Band is only 19, and has one of those rock voices every band must dream of! Alex has had a record deal with RCA since he was 14! Their music is upbeat and sometimes a little too intimate, and all of their songs are very well-crafted. (Camino Palmero is the street in Hollywood where Alex grew up and met Aaron, his songwriting partner and guitarist, who was dating Alex’s older sister. Also, the vice president of RCA lived next door, which was instrumental in getting them signed!)
The gorgeous first single “Wherever You Will Go” is an acoustic rocker that was performed live in the movie Coyote Ugly. It sounds like a great love song, but is actually, according to Alex, about when someone you love dies. “My life and love may still go on in your heart, in your mind, I’ll stay with you for all of time.” An amazing song!
“Final Answer” asks the questions we all ask when a relationship goes sour, “Is there love without hate, is there pleasure without pain?” My favorite love song here – and there are so many good ones – is “Could It Be Any Harder?” “Like sand on my feet, the smell of sweet perfume, you stick to me forever – I wish you didn’t go!” Alex’s lyrics make you wonder how one so young could know so much about love.
“Adrienne” is a killer breakup song, an ode to all the girls these guys have broken up with! “I should’ve left you long before you used me – used me up” “We Are Forgiven” is about our apathy to the suffering in the world. “Just That Good” is a knock at materialism. “Everyone I know is crawling after something maybe, a bigger house, a faster car, never knowing who they are.” “Stigmatized” is a kickass rocker about obsession. “I can feel the blood rushing through my veins, when I hear you voice driving me insane.”
These guys are always writing songs – and had more than 100 to choose from when they made this album! Alex says ,”Things come fast and furious from us – we never stop writing!” The Calling, still one of rock’s best kept secrets, can look forward to a long successful career as soon as the rest of the world discovers them!
