Album by The Detours
The Detours have made the kind of rock album that feels like it celebrates music from another era.
There’s a very specific sound running through No Particular Reason that takes me back to the mid-90s and early 2000s, when bands could blend alternative rock, pop-rock, Americana and roots music without worrying too much about where one genre ended and another began. The music here makes me think of bands like Better Than Ezra, Sister Hazel, O.A.R., Barenaked Ladies, Sheryl Crow, The Spin Doctors, The Black Crowes, Rob Thomas and The Tragically Hip, along with the warmer, rootsier side of Tom Petty. Bands that took that jangle rock sound from the 60s and made it contemporary.
That’s what No Particular Reason does best.
There are touches of country, blues and classic rock throughout, but none of it makes the album feel dated. If you like that melodic, guitar-driven rock and the different flavors that could fit under that umbrella, there’s a good chance you’ll find something to love here.
Overall though, The Detours just sound like a good, reliable rock band. The music is accessible in the best possible way: big hooks, great guitar work, fantastic drums and a singer who changes his delivery depending on what each song needs.
It’s also just a lot of fun.
“No Particular Reason” is a perfect introduction. It’s loud, swaggering rock with a little honky-tonk flavor. The song is brimming with confidence that spills over from the music about a life constantly on the move. It knows what that life might look like from the outside and doesn’t seem particularly interested in apologizing for it.
Slowing things down, “Lonely Day in LA” becomes more reflective as it explores the countless dreamers in LA trying to make something happen. It feels like a celebration of camaraderie and an appreciation of shared experiences.
There’s something beautiful and almost beachy about the melody of “Tide Rolls In,” but underneath it is the feeling of reflecting on the way life can change — the things you lose, the things you find. Connections you make and the people you leave behind. The song doesn’t feel mournful, though. It is more like an anthem. And it has perhaps my favorite vocal performance on the entire album.
“Letting Go” changes the sound completely. The band moves into something more atmospheric, with the song building to a really strong finish with some exceptional vocals. It feels primal as it wrestles with the idea that some things in life are beyond your control, and sometimes you just have to let go and accept what comes next.
The Tom Petty cover “Runnin’ Down a Dream” fits right into this world. If you like Rascal Flatts’ version of “Life Is a Highway,” you’ll probably like this as well. They keep enough of the original intact that you recognize it immediately, and then put their own spin on it. Petty’s version feels frantic and almost nightmarish. The Detours give us something a bit more hazy and disorienting.
The horns give “Losers Club” a different personality. It’s a playful, darkly comic collection of vignettes while, “Recklessly Confused” is laid-back and catchy, with a jangly melody and lyrics about accepting that life is going to be one leap of faith after another.
Starting with everyday frustrations, “Say Hello” turns toward something more hopeful and a promise of better days ahead. It’s bouncy and playful, and a nice burst of optimism. “It’s Going Down” takes the album somewhere more complicated. A little organ kicks things off before the guitar and drums bring it back into a bluesy rock groove, but the song keeps changing. It speeds up, slows down and moves into darker, heavier sections underneath the chorus. The guitar work is the star here, changing shape almost like a chameleon.
“Miss You in the Morning” slows things down again. It starts almost like a little country ballad, with acoustic guitar and a tender vocal, before the slide guitar gradually opens the song up. It has a warmth that makes it feel like an instant classic.
The album closes with “Chasing,” a melodic rock song that feels like an anthem for people who are still growing and changing. It brings together many of the album’s ideas: searching for your place, chasing your dreams, looking for someone to share your life with and trying to find somewhere that feels like home in a life full of impermanence.
Part of what makes No Particular Reason feel like an old-school kind of record is that it’s more than a collection of singles that just happen to occupy the same space. There is a sense of change that runs through the album. These are songs about mistakes, lost relationships, dreams, uncertainty and the different directions life can take you. There’s no bitterness or cynicism here. Instead, there’s an acceptance that plans don’t always work out, people come and go, and sometimes you just have to embrace whatever comes next.
And it just sounds really good.
There’s enough variety from song to song to keep things interesting, while the band remains consistently strong throughout the album. There’s an authenticity to the way the vocals serve the songs, and there are also some moments where you think, “Damn! This guy is singing his heart out!”
This blend of rock, country, Americana, blues and pop might not be as common as it once was, but The Detours are proof that it’s still worth keeping alive.
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