Caddy is actually the alter-ego of Tomas Dahl, an Oslo, Norway-based multi-faceted musician who has been a mainstay on the indie circuit for the past couple of decades. Aside from traveling the solo path, Dahl has played in noted bands like the Bittersweets, the Stanleys, the Surfaholics and the Terrifieds.
Caddy’s latest album, Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1 (Kool Kat Musik), observes Dahl taking a break from producing his own stellar songs and reprising some of his favorite tunes from the ’70s and ’80s. But this is not your average covers collection, as these offerings are stationed in the obscure corner of the field. Yet the selections on Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1 are so impossibly infectious that they could truly masquerade as major hit singles of yore.
Initially recorded by Sgt. Arms, “Walking on the Roof” romps to a robust back beat, tempered by sheets of kinetic rhythms. Screaming Sneakers are given a shout out on the nerve-rattling “Violent Days,” which features the shimmery croon of Ida Dorthea Horpestad.
A rendition of Junior Campbell’s “If I Call Your Name” pins a moody complexion to a punchy stride, and SVT’s “Heart of Stone” is tinted with a neo-new wave polish and shine.
Elsewhere on Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1, loyal versions of “Cost of Love” (the Cretones), “Not the Way It Seems” (Gary Charleson), “Best Thing I Ever Did” (the Invaders), and “Don’t Wait Till Tomorrow” (Robin Lane and the Chartbusters) roll in as letter-perfect power-pop picks.
Caddy’s mastery of the musical era he revisits on this album is amazingly authentic. Clear and compact vocals, bolstered by on-target timing and phrasing inform each track, while energetic riffing, husky hooks and crushing drum fills further fertilize the pithy cuts.
Many great songs have been lost to the wind over the years, so how nice it is Caddy has put together an album such as Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1? Let’s hope additional episodes are in the works.
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