“Roses” sees The Band CAMINO taking a reflective stance on how turbulent 2020 has been
but imploring us all to ‘stop and smell the f**king roses’ along with them. Though, what’s
struck me most about this release is how not sad it is. It is identifiably CAMINO, but they’ve
taken the unsettling moments and turned it into an optimistic tune we’re not used to hearing
from them.
It’s almost angry in places, frustrated at how we stay hung up on things that have
happened in the past, but it’s also a call to arms. It rouses excitement in the pit of your
stomach and lets you reflect on your own situations with some hindsight: ‘Smiling at the thought of never living it down / Does it matter if it's uphill, downhill? / I'm letting it go, I'm letting it out.’
This is an anthem for being hopeful that you’ll turn into the person you want to be.
‘But I'm done wasting my time on the "woe is me" bullshit / That's keeping me from being
myself / So look around and tell me what you want me to see / Maybe you're the person that
you always wanted to be,’ are the standout lyrics for me. They’re backed with invigorating
instrumentals, from Spencer Stewart and Garrison Burgess, that will have you grinning from
ear-to-ear and reaching to hit the replay.
The gang vocals that feature throughout are a wonderful addition, that only hit harder
when juxtaposed with the simple piano chords and isolated vocals from Jeffrey Jordan. The
gang vocals themselves really push the overall hopeful theme as it feels like you’re getting a
pep talk from a crowd that’s feeling the same way about themselves as you are: ‘Yeah, we're only human but we got hands and hearts and noses / So stop and smell the roses.’