It’s been a while since I’ve been behind the wheel of one of these things, and it’s also been a while since we’ve had some proper booze to pair with a release (although, who doesn’t love a good tea?).  If you think you’re in for something conventional, though, you sure as hell aren’t.  This week’s offerings: God Smiles Upon the Callous Daoboys by, well, The Callous Daoboys and Bonny Doone Vinyard’s Le Cigare Orange.

—

The Tunes: God Smiles Upon the Callous Daoboys

It’s no big secret that I’ve been a fan of The Callous Daoboys for a long time, thanks in no small part to Buke and his first interview with Capra singer Crow Lotus, who mentioned the two acts touring together.  I was immediately both smitten with the band name and infuriated that I didn’t come up with it first, although when I first heard Die on Mars (which, yes, I stumbled over that name about 100 times on the podcast when I mentioned it, I will literally never forgive myself) I was nothing short of blown away.  Last year’s Celebrity Therapist cemented them in my mind as the foremost band in the genre of “we do whatever the fuck we want,” and God Smiles takes that one step even further.  It’s only three tracks but my god do they manage to pack so much in there.  Opening track “Pushing the Pink Envelope” manages to run the gamut from dancy synth work that is almost power metal in nature before bringing in some of the most disgustingly heavy breakdowns of their career and then…muzak, an anthemic pop chorus that is equal parts Glassjaw and Fall Out Boy, more breakdowns and ambient piano.  God Smiles is described by the band as a jumping off point for their future and the culmination of them making music that fully represents every influence they drink in.  “Waco Jesus,” especially, sounds like a direct result of their most recent tour supporting Protest the Hero, without managing to sound derivative of anyone or anything.  But if anything could be called “the future” of the Callous Daoboys, it’s probably closer “Designer Shroud of Turin.”  Heavy, djent-adjacent riffing?  Check.  Pop chorus?  Check.  Noodly, mathy breakdowns?  Check.  Rap break?  Check.  Smooth saxophone Latin jazz interlude?  Uh, check.  There is literally nothing they don’t manage to cram into five minutes and change, but hey.  That’s kind of just how the Daoboys roll at this point.  It’s their world, we’re just along for the ride.

—

The Booze: Bonny Doone Vinyard’s Le Cigare Orange

With a band as indescribably weird as the Callous Daoboys, it was really hard for me to figure out what to pair with it.  How do you match that energy, how do you match that level of complexity in a drink?  A simple beer won’t do.  Not this time.  Fortunately, Trader Joes had the answer, as it almost always does no matter the question.  Le Cigare Orange is my first foray into orange wine, which, for the uninitiated, does not actually contain any oranges.  It’s white wine fermented with the skins on, which gives it the titular color and a LOT of added depth and complexity over a traditional white wine.  Ripe stone fruit sweetness on the nose and opening almost immediately give way to the bright citrus and apple of a pinot grigio, but with a bitterness and tannin dryness that you would expect to find in a red wine.  It is truly unlike anything else out there, and seeing as how natural wines and orange wines are becoming more widely available, it’s about time we started thinking outside of the red/white binary and embracing the weirdness that exists in the in-between.  Just like the Callous Daoboys, Le Cigare is interesting, complex, underappreciated and wholly delightful.

---

You know what they say: cheers and be good to each other.

— Ian