This is a TGEFM reader-submitted review. It may have been edited for content, spelling, or grammar but otherwise reflects the thoughts and opinions of the submitter.
Review by Phil Stevenson
Salinas Records – 12 Feb 2021
A wonderful slice of indie pop-punk with more to offer.
Here’s an album from Pittsburgh 3-piece Calyx that very nearly passed me by this year. And boy am I glad it didn’t… here’s why you shouldn’t let it either.
As soon as I heard the frenzied sporadic drum attacks punctuating the surfy opening riff before giving way to Caitlin Bender’s searing vocals on album opener “Americana Get a Break,” I immediately knew Stay Gone and I were going to be good mates.
At its core Stay Gone is fast-paced and catchy indie pop-punk, just the way you like it. With hooks, gang chants and sing-along moments galore. The guitars sound huge and pummeling when they need to, with an almost Japandroids-reminiscent anthemic quality. It certainly leans more to the indie side of pop-punk, with an at first familiar aesthetic. If you like bands like Swearin’, Martha, and Good Luck then you’re almost certainly going to like this record.
But Calyx are not satisfied with treading the same ground as many of their contemporaries. Stay Gone is an album crammed with clever dynamic shifts, mathy time changes on a sixpence, varied textures, trade-offs between vocals, guitars and drums all winning a fight to capture your attention.
This is a brave album showing off excellent songcraft and exploration beyond the shackles of any genre expectations. At times Stay Gone sounds like an indie jam band wigging out Crazy Horse-era Neil Young style. The closing moments of “Entopical” are a fuzzed-out pounding stoner riff-fest that will have your head rhythmically nodding involuntarily like a cheap plastic toy on a dashboard.
The production is right in that sweet spot retaining a lo-fi charm that doesn’t betray the humble routes of the band, but still sounds crisp and sharp! It fizzes and jumps out the speakers at you with raw energy and power. Stay Gone sounds like the culmination of 3 best friends, who’ve spent years rolling around a van together, mastering their craft and developing intimate trust in each other and their songwriting ability.
…and if I were to find myself rolling around in a van with my best buds I could think of few better records to throw on than Stay Gone – for this is a record that almost demands a road trip. Lyrically it’s full of wanderlust, adventure, and romance. Sonically it’s familiar and welcoming, but exciting, and demanding all at once! This is a gem of a record, you don’t want to let pass you by.
