Cardinal Direction: In the Right Direction

There's something to be said for unprocessed, unplugged pure folk rock. North Carolina's Cardinal Direction strikes a clear chord with their latest release, Take It Back. The sound, a fusion of rock and soft reggae drums, has been filling college towns clubs. The vocals of Aaron Dunham and Greg McCullough shine with the pleasant lack of unnecessary overcompensation of excess background instrumentation. Steady bongos of Michael Mahoney and acoustic guitar strummings McCullough complete this stripped down sound. Think bare feet and nighttime beach bonfires, and you can imagine the style Cardinal Direction portrays.

Simple, clear sounds give the essence of the storytelling folk rock of the sixties with modern influences reminiscent of Guster and a slower OAR. Layering of vocals between Dunham and McCullough on tracks such as "Humble" reinforce the music. The heartfelt ballad "Token" highlights the bare essence of guitar and basic poetic rhymes unique to Cardinal Direction: "If our paths will cross down the way or down the road/ I'll find you doing well and see that the pace has slowed /at the very junction I hope you don't
forget /the road down which we came maybe its not over yet /so please take this token". A grass roots vibe is felt on "Ages Ago", taking the listener away to a summertime escape.

Percussion and saxophone add a wonderful base on introspective tracks like "Last Time Through". Drums, like the heartbeat behind the soulful songs, keep a rhythm driving home the emotion of the vocals: "I just want to look at you like everything is fine/ you keep reading my lyrics/ but you never memorize the lines". "One Fast Year" brings a more upbeat, reflective sound, with characteristic guitar parts and vocal inflections. Overall, guitar solos are of perfect placement and length, not in the vein of a jam session rant, but in an effort to accentuate the flow of the song itself. The result is a nice, fluid product.

Cardinal Direction may mix the flavors of instrumentally sound, stripped down predecessors like fellow roots reggae rockers Dispatch, but this band finds a distinctive mellow quality in its music. Steady guitars and steady beats set the scene for beautiful lead instrumentation. Take It Back gives the listener the one of the best gifts a CD can; it makes you feel as though the band were playing live in your living room. Cardinal Direction is certainly pointing in the right direction.