It feels weird talking about The Band CAMINO. The group’s name is unconventional, like saying “The Fruit Orange” or “The Brand Nike,” and in conversation, it’s easy to fumble around the question of whether the Memphis-based alternative rockers would rather be referred to as simply “this band called CAMINO” or “this band called The Band CAMINO,” which just sounds redundant. At the same time, it’s this title-related quirk that makes the group unforgettable from the get-go – they certainly don’t have to compete with the dozens of indie/alternative acts that opted for ever-original names containing words like coast, waves or, better yet, wild.

In fact, The Band CAMINO’s title hints at the kind of distinction that also permeates their sound, initially introduced in 2016 with debut EP My Thoughts on You. Covering plenty of territory – from bouncy electropop with “2 /14” to the powerful, guitar-driven ballad rock of “The Black and White” – the group proved their creative capabilities to be anything but limited. Still, there was something slightly comfortable about the project; in its blind spots, My Thoughts on You too closely emulated the noises of other indie groups from Tennessee, like COIN or Colony House. Coming from a place where Southern rock-inflected pop bands are a dime a dozen, The Band CAMINO still needed to take a step away from the kind of musicality that had brought their contemporaries success. They needed to exit the safety zone – and quickly.

Listen: “My Thoughts on You” – The Band CAMINO

Today, the quartet consisting of Jeffery Jordan (lead vocals/guitar) Spencer Stewart (guitar/vocals), Graham Rowell (bass) and Andrew Isbell (percussion) has released “My Thoughts on You,” the second single from its upcoming sophomore effort Heaven (slated for release June 2 on Dollar Slice Records). And contrary to its familiar title, the track is far too innovative to have a place on its creator’s debut EP – instead, it represents a new artistic page for The Band CAMINO, a promising one that hopefully foreshadows the collective sound of the forthcoming EP.

My Thoughts on You - The Band Camino © 2017 — My Thoughts on You – The Band Camino

Silky smooth and decadently refined is the only proper way to describe “My Thoughts on You,” a track that leaves The Band CAMINO sounding dreamier than ever. Driven by keyboards and the pure, ethereal vocals of frontman Jeffery Jordan, the single is a crisp transition from the group’s alt-rock roots into the sphere of fashionable alternative pop.

And I know this
I can’t read it right, between the fights
I still need you
And I know this
I feel for your eyes, I just realized
I still need you

In this world, a drum machine, synthesizers and heavenly croons can take a group of visionaries far – which is exactly why The Band CAMINO have so easily pulled off a dive into manicured pop bliss. Simultaneously, “My Thoughts on You” is just as depressing as it is dreamy: “Since you burned me at the stake, all of my feelings went away /There’s no feelings in my way /At least there’s no feelings in my way,” sings Jordan. Established fans will notice that this new track appears to narrate a love previously verbalized by Jordan before on tracks like “2 / 14,” but there’s something dissimilar about the way it sounds this time – rawer and more pensive than on both My Thoughts on You and “Who Says We’re Through,” the first single from Heaven. And when sweetly laced with clean instrumentals, that forlorn attitude puts “My Thoughts on You” at the forefront of songs to play after the climax of a bittersweet summer romance.

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