There’s a saying I used to be quite fond of: “Evolution, not revolution.” It makes sense in my professional context, where there’s a strong emphasis on reflection and re-evaluation. It’s the essence of that HR buzzphrase, ‘professional development’. Until recently, I hadn’t considered that someone who engages in an artistic pursuit, like making music, also looks upon their craft as a succession of skill development, and not just in creating a finished product. Whether you make art, make automobiles, or mould malleable young minds, the biggest growth (and greatest success) comes from engaging in the journey and not focussing on the final destination.
CTZNSHP‘s Jesse LeGallais understand that. On “Tropical Kings”, he and his bandmates, Florent Clavel and Scott Steven Delaney, recognize their journey is taking them somewhere new, somewhere different than where they’ve been before. “I think something here has changed,” sings LeGallais in his familiar baritone, “I can hear it in the rain”. I hear it too, in the gentle cascade of trumpeting guitars, in the song’s steady tempo, like footfalls in the pitch black of night, testing with each step, ensuring you’re on solid ground even if you can’t see what’s in front of you.
I think something with CTZNSHP has changed. With “Tropical Kings,” their imminent revolution is just an evolutionary step away.