The Ramblin' Years - Nickels & Dimes

The Ramblin' Years

Nickels & Dimes
self-released; 2015

3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

The five-piece band The Ramblin' Years comprised of Sean Clavere (vocals, lead guitar), Katie Sweeney (vocals, rhythm guitar), Daniel Dunn (sax, vocals), Daniel Dovinh (drums, vocals) and Mitch Edwards (bass) is a group that is easy to enjoy upon first listen. Their music is a warm country/alt hybrid that contains poppy melodies, exceptional vocal harmonies and good overall songwriting.

The band released their debut self-titled album back in 2014 and already had time to hit the studio again and put out a three-song EP entitled Nickels & Dimes. There are only three songs on this EP and it’s less than ten minutes in length but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t impactful.

The first song “Come On Carla” is arguably the highlight, which is pure americana country that would have sounded just as relevant fifty years as it does today. It’s about a marriage, which is past the honeymoon phase but the desire to get some of the passion between the two has returned. The song starts with A cappella vocals, which sounded fantastic. I honestly wouldn't have minded the whole song that way. When the instrumentation enters it’s clean, crisp and adds an upbeat energy into the mix. The song has a number of notable moments with lyrics like “Come on Carla put your red dress I wanna go out tonight, I haven't seen you dance in so long somehow that doesn't seem right.”

”One Eye Open” has a different feel from the first track. It’s a blue-collar rocker that lies somewhere between John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen. The guitars are heavier and the male voice is more prevalent this time around. It’s unequivocally the rocker of the three songs. The band closes with minimal and melancholy “Sweet Smilin’ Girl.” It’s a tender song that puts  the acoustic guitar and vocals at the center. 

Even though the band's full length came out before Nickels & Dimes I think it’s a good starting point for getting into the band. The band attempts and pulls off three different styles which I’m pretty sure is indicative of what we can expect the band to build off of on their second album. Nickels & Dimes is short, sweet and thoroughly enjoyable.

Become A Fan

---

official website

Tweet