Caamp

Caamp have been writing and singing tender love songs tinged with melancholy and determination ever since Meier played his first notes with bandmate Evan Westfall more than a decade ago. They formed the band at Ohio University in Athens, playing local coffeehouses and growing more committed to this extracurricular project. With the addition of Matt Vinson on bass and Joseph Kavalec on keyboards, they built up a grassroots following well beyond the Buckeye State based on the inventiveness of Meier’s songwriting, the exuberance of their live performances, and their tireless dedication to touring as much as possible.

In 2020, however, they were taken off the road by the pandemic—a fate they shared with all artists—and were forced to slow down and take stock. “The past two years have been a big learning curve for us, especially since Caamp is centered on travel and human interaction. That all got stripped away very suddenly. I lost my livelihood, then I lost a very deep love of mine. I lost my beloved dog. Then we all got Covid. You start to lose your sanity.” Even as it presented so many tragedies, that time afforded Meier the space to reflect on them. “I learned a lot and I humbled myself. I think I became more patient, and I know I became more vulnerable around my bandmates, my friends, and my family. Getting these songs to tape was a huge part of that process of learning and healing.”

As soon as they could, they went back on the road, writing songs during soundchecks—including “Believe,” a rousing declaration of devotion whose harmonies sparkle like sunlight on water. In February 2021, they took a batch of new songs down to North Carolina, where they recorded at Sylvan Esso’s studio outside Durham. There they worked with producer Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Snail Mail) to figure these songs out, emphasizing the brotherly chemistry and unbreakable trust among the four members. “The boys”—that’s what Meier affectionately calls his bandmates—“recognized what this record meant to me. They saw where I was coming from. So we had this mission to make it sound as real and as true and as human as possible. I had this epiphany one day and realized that I couldn’t have made it here on my own. These songs wouldn’t have the little intricacies and intimacies and the depth that Evan, Matt, and Joe brought out of them. We’re stronger as a band than we would be by ourselves. I’m just papier-mâché without the boys.”

Finishing the album back in Columbus, Caamp thought of Lavender Days as a journey, as a story they were telling to themselves and to their fans. “I like my records to read like books. I want there to be motifs and themes and character arcs and all those wonderful elements from our favorite novels.” Caamp’s music can provoke such a reaction in listeners: its unique mix of West Coast folk, Midwestern Americana, and cathartic indie rock sounds warmly familiar, like a favorite comforter, and yet still fresh enough that listeners can make their own associations and find their own meanings.