Sibling trio The Cains (formerly known as The Cains Trio) are comprised of Taylor, Madison and Logan Cain, three singer/songwriters hailing from Hartselle, Alabama. The three have been around each their whole lives, performing in church together, attending high school together, joining the cheerleading team together, going to college together and eventually all moving back in together once they had their degrees. That coincided with heading to Nashville in the fall of 2014, which produced their debut album ‘Stay On Board’, a top 50 MusicRow single in the form of ‘Be Yourself With Me’, and a handful of performances in London as part of C2C Festival 2015. During that time they were also hard at work on their self-titled EP, which was released digitally this week.
Helmed by the lead single ‘Journey’s End’ (single review here), ‘The Cains’ is a 5-track record that promises a hell of a lot more than your average new country pop act. The single itself is an expertly-produced, radio-friendly song that packs a real punch (both sonically and lyrically), and is guaranteed to get a live audience going. Built from piano, banjo and a driving beat, the siblings swap lead vocal duties before coming together with those gorgeous harmonies for the chorus. Cleverly, the first chorus doesn’t go for the big dramatic moment that it later indulges in, instead keeping things stripped-back and understated, which makes the eventual peak all the sweeter. The message is simple; it’s a love song of epic proportions that promises to be there and meet again at the end of all things. A perfect show closer and great to blast out the speakers.
But from here The Cains steer us away from plain country pop and delve into a delicious southern gothic vein. It starts with ‘Knock Knock’, which is shrouded in minor key, creeping banjo, quivering electric guitar and a suspense-filled whistling hook, dropping us into a far edgier sphere while keeping some element of polish. Dripping with emotion and desperation for a failing relationship, the narrator practically begs to be heard, “Can you hear me now beating on the door of your heart?”
There are also Christian undertones to this record, however, with both ‘Journey’s End’ and ‘Knock Knock’ including parallels to a relationship with God; this becomes most apparent, though, with ‘Down To The Water’, a southern rock/gospel-infused begging for forgiveness via the medium of baptism. Still, despite this willingness to change, there is an underlying preoccupation with sin present, at times a disturbance with it, at others more a fascination. ‘Miss Red, White, and Blue’ injects a psychedelic dobro slide and twangy fiddle to an edgy pop rock track about a wild woman raising hell, stealing money and running from it, “Bonnie and Clyde meets American Pie”, leaving her infatuated beau behind.
‘Smoke On The Hill’, meanwhile, is a fully-realized southern gothic tale told in a similar style to Carrie Underwood’s ‘Blown Away’ and Martina McBride’s ‘Independence Day’. “Daddy came home drunk and mean one too many times, I became his punching bag and I lied about black eyes,” the first verse begins, before revealing details of a mother going to defend her daughter but not being strong enough, and that daughter grabbing wood from the fire to kill her father. The song goes on to deal with the aftermath, including her mother remarrying, the neighbors continuing to ask questions, and, most potently, the unending psychological impact on the girl in question. She sees the memories in her dreams and relives that night in vivid detail, no longer returning to her hometown because of the emotional (and physical) scars. It’s a deep, dark track with a pulsing sense of drama and the lyrical weight to make this EP a very well-rounded one.
It would have been easy to underestimate a young, fresh, country pop sibling trio with sweet harmonies, but The Cain’s self-titled EP is musically and lyrically diverse, covering subjects such as love, heartbreak, murder, recklessness, rebellion, faith and much more. The way they incorporate a mainstream sound with darker southern elements makes them palatable to the masses whilst retaining a unique identity and musicality, and I for one am excited to see where they go next.
Originally posted here.
