Altameda – Crazy Blue(2025)
If you want a delicious slice of nostalgia, then look no further than Crazy Blue, the fourth album from Altameda. The Canadian Alt/Folk duo’s previous album, Born Losers, was met with critical acclaim, and the hype around them is set to build with this latest release. This is music that convincingly pays homage to the past; it could’ve been released in 1973. The duo comprise singer and songwriter Troy Snaterse and multi-instrumentalist collaborator Erik Grice. They hail from Edmonton but are based in Toronto.
The album kicks off with its very strong title track. Altameda’s lyrics like to paint you a story and make clever use of metaphor: “Sometimes it feels like my feet are on fire / and other times they’re ice cold / One day they’ll melt your little body down baby / And stick you on the dashboard”. ‘Crazy Blue’ is a gentle, lush song, and a gorgeous piano section plays the song out.
The duo likes to use influences from an era gone by, and ‘Body Spray’ displays harmonies that Fleetwood Mac would be proud of. ‘Stuck In Your Ways’ could have been a George Harrison song. It has the melodic slide guitar that he was well known for. “Cos anyone’s talkin’ / Tight rope walkin’ on a grapevine” is a lyric that trips off the tongue. It’s a really beautiful track amongst an album where you are blessed with them.
The listener is whisked on a journey to Oklahoma, in the form of ‘Tulsa’. It possesses an alluring Americana sound. It is in the same vein as ‘Tequila Sunrise’ or ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ by The Eagles. The words here depict someone reminiscing about an old flame; “Maybe it’s something about Tulsa / That gets me thinking of you / I’m sure you’ve met some better man / I’m sure he takes real good care of you”.
I had been wrestling over which was my favourite song from this soothing album. ‘Life Is A Desert’ takes the crown. It is THAT good, it could’ve been a John Lennon song. “Life Is a desert / love quenches thirst” is one of those short, hard-hitting lyrics that Lennon traded off. It would’ve fitted nicely on Imagine, or one of his other solo records. What is surprising is that Altameda had the track finished a few years ago, but had been sitting on it. It is a melancholic but beautiful track, with some captivating sax playing by Joseph Shabasons.
‘Wild One Forever’ is breezier than the two tracks before. It has elements of Crosby, Stills & Nash. The duo describe it as “a slow cruise through the desert, with the horizon melting in technicolour”. It has nice cascading guitars that work really well, and the track explodes at the end. The album is now starting to take a buoyant flow with the sunny ‘Alexander’, which has lush acoustic guitars. “Peace will come on high / And your soul will fly” is the kind of lyric that epitomises the uplifting feel to this tune.
‘Sweet Laredo’ is another gorgeous track with lovely keys. There is even a Tom Petty-sounding track, in the form of ‘Last Laugh’. The pace slows down for the closer ‘Faint Of Heart’, which contains more intelligent songwriting; “Love is not for the faint of heart, it’ll eat your little world alive / Love is not for the faint of heart, but it’s all that we’ve got to survive”. There is an amazing retro feel to this album, which is crying out to be heard.
Find out more about Altameda on their official website, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
