[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ESNxgfnBo”]
The new Comeback My Daughters’ album has been getting a fair bit of praise as of late, and “Always On Your Side” sorta nails the final stake in the hype coffin. Earlier song “Why” hinted at high-energy-but-also-a-little-reflective territory, all backdropped by New York City skyscrapers and shitty apartments. “Always On Your Side” dials the tempo back a bit, opening with lonely acoustic strumming and some nice singing, before the rest of the band rushes in to transform this into…a bluegrass-tinged stomper? Yeah, sorta…Comeback My Daughters stick a thistle of wheat between their teeth and embrace their inner Appalachia (kinda) by making the banjo be the central instrument here, going from a Hee-Haw fast bit to an appropriately-backed-by-a-campfire-in-the-video wind down. This isn’t Comeback My Daughters auditioning for the Opry, rather a clever fusion-cuisine-like melding of country elements into their usual brand of rock. The banjo plucking is nice, but it’s not the real star here – that would be the more adventurous songwriting chops on display here, the band weaving through different speeds and segments just right.