Review / 200 Words Or Less
Jeff Caudill
Try to be Here

Fortunate Son (2009) Sean K.

Jeff Caudill – Try to be Here cover artwork
Jeff Caudill – Try to be Here — Fortunate Son, 2009

Rising from the remains of the pop-punkers Gameface, Jeff Caudill heads out on the road by himself on this trip. Well, not exactly. He does the consistency of the producing and also being the drummer for this project. Also involved is none other than Robbie Rist (yes-"Oliver" from The Brady Bunch!) Check out YouTube for a funny clip of Robbie destroying his image so to speak. But the songs are what we really need to veer back to here. Real stories are being told here, about broken lives and buried dreams. "Stay Home" offers up a nice groove and some pleasant piano over Jeff's singing. "Spend" brings a bit more rock into the equation with good effect. My favorite here is "I was the Lead Singer" where he looks back on his past with longing and maybe a bit of sadness. The best confessional type tune about being in a band since Slim Dunlap's "The Ballad of the Opening Band." Give this a shot if that sounds like it's in your realm of enjoyment. I know it entered mine.

6.0 / 10Sean K. • December 16, 2009

Jeff Caudill – Try to be Here cover artwork
Jeff Caudill – Try to be Here — Fortunate Son, 2009

Related news

Low Coast marks a new direction for Jeff Caudill

Posted in Records on April 15, 2023

Recently-posted album reviews

David J

Tracks From the Attic Revisited
Independent Project Records (2026)

Sometimes musical circles take decades to close. Just ask Fleur De Lys and their catchy cover of The Who’s '60s freakbeat rarity, "Circles." For those of us digging through dusty crates at the margins of post-punk, a first introduction to mid-century mystic Eden Ahbez didn't come from a Nat King Cole hit. It came straight from the liner notes of … Read more

Physicalist

Self Titled
Dirt Cult (2026)

F.Y.P is one of the rare bands that I'd say nobody sounds like -- but in the past two months I've caught myself making that comparison twice. First while listening to the new Dumpies LP (spoiler alert: they cover F.Y.P on that same record) and now as I listen to the Physicalist debut EP. The interesting thing here isn't the … Read more

Dylan Thomas

Todo se desvanece
Burnt Toast Vinyl (2026)

When bands spend months slowly piecing together an album with cheap gear, limited time, and apparently an alarming amount of terrible beer, it’s kind of romantic. Not romantic in the polished indie film sense. More romantic in the sense that you can actually hear people chasing a feeling before life pulls them in different directions. That tension sits at the … Read more