Cairns - Alt-Country - Missoula, MT
by Jordan Finn
Guitars are so 2010s. The indie outfit Cairns has a new single called “Space Station” and that strumming you’re hearing isn’t a tinny guitar but Ryan Carr’s electrified mandola. In anticipation of their sophomore album The Saturn Return, Cairns is teasing us with “Space Station”, a song depicting a planet abandoned by the 1% leaving the rest of us here like the remnants of a biblical Rapture. Seeing Hollywood actors and out-of-touch celebrities posting on social media from their yachts while the rest of us stay cramped in over-priced apartments indicates that something is very wrong, so it’s hard to tell if the titular space station of Cairns’ new single “Space Station” is some fictional space colony or an Earth abandoned due to pollution, inequality and war.
Well, thank the performers of “Space Station” for reminding us of this welcomed anxiety! Ryan Carr (vox, mandolin), Brian Tremper (drums, organ), Jenni Long (trumpet), and Rob Cave (bass) each have their moments to shine on the track. Carr sings in a baritone reminiscent of a nimbler Matt Beringer and manages to make his mandolin emulate an electric guitar right out of the gate until it’s slowly enveloped by horns, organs, and backup vocals. Cave’s bass-playing (per usual) finds that perfect spot between minimal groovin’ and oh-so-tasty bass fills that shimmy up and down the fretboard. The drums provide a playful and busy rhythm for what could be a demoralizing song with its racing drum rolls and syncopated accents. And while the drums keep things high-spirited, the organ chords give everything a certain urgency - an essential element considering the subject matter and our current zeitgeist. Long’strumpeting begins at the mid-way point with a solo so harmonious you’ll wish it could be just a little louder and longer.
Overall, the song congeals into a force of unnerving energy, building with layers as the grim future approacheth. Cairns’ focus is an apocalyptic one and the track’s references to Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? reveal the band’s preoccupation with impending disaster and the world the rest of us will be left with. As Carr sings, “We’re on the great divide, and there’s a black-eyed beast in sight.” This beast slouching towards us is closer than we think, and songs like this weave a sonic texture that doesn’t betray either the hope or disparity that we oscillate between daily. One of the strongest characteristics of the single are the amplified emotions that segue deftly between impending doom and resilient solidarity. This cognitive dissonance is especially relatable as we’re currently more united than ever to fight back against oppressive systems but in some ways divested of hope that things will really get better. One of the great achievements of art and music is giving shape to these feelings, giving our shapeless emotions artistic form.
Luckily, there’s more Cairns to come, as The Saturn Return will be released later this year - hopefully before the plutocrats and celebs share their Insta feeds aboard a SpaceX rocket on its way to Mars...
Track recorded and mixed by Josh Blakely
Brian Tremper - Drums and Organ
Jenni Long - Trumpets
Rob Cave - Bass
Ryan Carr - Vocals and Mandola
