CD Review // Cosmic Convoy "Together Again for the First Time" (C-Side Records)

https://cosmicconvoyatx.bandcamp.com/album/together-again-for-the-first-time

https://c-siderecords.com/store/

Of the three recent releases on C-Side Records, Cosmic Convoy is the most country out of them all.   Now, the word "country" can mean different things to different people.  I've always been into those which are called the outlaw country musicians but then you have the names like Garth Brooks and Randy Travis who I'm just not into (and there are obviously more modern versions of these as well, I just try to remain oblivious to them)  I don't know what it is exactly that I don't like about certain country artists but whatever it is, Cosmic Convoy isn't doing it.

When I first listened to "Together Again for the First Time" I made it to the third song, "Until I See An Empty Cup", which made me think about how it had those guitars like Johnny Cash.   It was that visual of Johnny Cash going with his band into a small recording studio and the people in there just being blown away.  (A studio which, for the record, I have visited before)  But then when I went through and listened to this album another time, right away I heard the Johnny Cash come out in "Rosanna".   

It's funny how music can hide things until you realize they're there and then they all open up for you like magic.    In that way, this album can also be somewhat philosophical, with lyrics about life and death.   Though some of the lyrics are a bit more light-hearted even if you have to pay close attention to hear lines like "And it was my displeasure to have known her for a while" in "Rosanna" (which makes it feel more like an anti-love song and I do enjoy that)  "Up For Grabs" has a slower, alt country way about it and I do enjoy songs of this nature.

From the deep and dark guitar riffs on "Anodyne" to the way "Fall And Fly Away" makes me think about John Denver, there is just a certain mood which these songs create, a certain scene which they set.   I imagine Cosmic Convoy playing in a bar with cowboys in it- you know, everyone in cowboy hats and cowboy boots (which is not how everyone in Texas actually looks)- and everyone is drinking Shiner while singing along with "Bound" and it's just such a good time.   And I suppose that I've always thought of country music as being sad, and even if these songs do feel sad they are just delivered in a way which makes them feel like so much fun.