Review: Coastal Clouds self-titled album
By Carly Tagen-Dye
If the changing seasons have got you down, or at least wishing for an escape back to summer, there’s no need to daydream anymore. Roberto Rodriguez, better known under his moniker Coastal Clouds, is bringing back the sweet sounds and sunshine of the West Coast with his self-titled debut album, released October 25 via MAKE Records. Just ten tracks long, Coastal Clouds is enrooted in lingering memories and a soft, Polaroid-like haze. If you delve underneath the surface, however, this record becomes something much more real. It is a statement of place; the ones we come from and the ones we are still trying to find.
From his time growing up in Puerto Rico, to finding a new home for himself within the Santa Monica music scene, Rodriguez has since come into bloom as a singer/songwriter extraordinaire. His tracks feel like developed, unreleased gems from the last century that never saw the light of day. Within the first few seconds of Coastal Clouds, you’re immediately whisked back to 1970’s California, driving through the canyons with your car hood down, nothing but the endless summer highway of you. Opener “Nothing to Hide” speaks to the joys of free will and unapologetic being; the kind of romantic view a Los Angeles afternoon might bring. “Slow Rider” intermingles with indie, soft beats and jangling guitar. Rodriguez’s childhood influences, like Neil Young and Elliot Smith, shine through in “Comes From A Time,” the acoustic opening and crooning calls becoming his own creation. There are doubts about love, about life, about everything, as he sings, “Does your heart tell the truth when you think you want it to?”
A variety of other genres find their places within this record, each song feeling like a new experience entirely. Tracks like “Wanna Come Down” mingle with a more modern style, yet still incorporate an Eagles-esque guitar jam in the middle. “Better Find Out” basks in a Feliciano-like classical guitar, yet has the same wallowy qualities of the early 2000’s alternative scene. Themes of self-realization and finding oneself, though, are what remain the driving force from the beginning. “Too Late To Run Away” tells about the need to slow down and simply live in the moment. “Easy Train” forces us to reconsider our past selves; to reconsider what we know and how to let that guide us in the future. As the album comes to a close with “All of My Days,” a gentle folk ballad, we are fully enveloped in the honesty of Coastal Clouds. Rodriguez sings “each new day, it just brings a different song,” showcasing the optimistic perspective that shines throughout. His mindset is clear for the world to see. It is the truest piece of his art, and one that we all hope to realize one day too.
Coastal Clouds is what you need to both escape reality and be brought back to it. Through his sultry and sentimental songs, Rodriguez takes us on a journey through time and through the human experience. The perils he sings of are the same ones everybody must go through: the joys of love, the ache of unsurety, the rewards of self-reflection. Each song feels like a gift, brought to light through soft rock you can slip into immediately. Most important, however, is the heart that seeps into every syllable. Coastal Clouds is as personal as Rodriguez’s story itself, sure to find a home within wandering souls everywhere.