Straylings, the band consisting of Dana Zeera and Oliver Drake, have returned with the release of their third album Call Back Your Name. The record follows their 2018 LP Wild Medicine.

Back in October of this year, Straylings released the lead-off single ‘American Kid’, a nostalgic offering of 70s-styled sun-drenched rock that posessed Fleetwood Mac qualities. Their second song ‘How Long’ tapped into their efficient bag of moody psychedelic folk, providing a snapshot of what was to come with the full length. What has manifested is an eleven-track album that indeed feels like a journey through the potent 60s and 70s era of psychedelic rock, folk, and sunshine pop, but in the best way possible. And while it would be easy to travel down the road of an already firmly laid blueprint from yesteryear, Dana Zeera injects cultural references from her native Bahrain, as well as European folk deliveries that truly make for a unique and ear-warming listen. With the production of each track, Oliver Drake creates bursting soundscapes that are as gorgeous as the natural surroundings of the state of California. The album’s musical consistencies also make this record one in which you can press play and let it flow from beginning to end, each song being the important threading to the finished piece. To simply dub Call Back Your Name a really good album would almost do it a disservice. The fact is, with so much that has happened across music industry in 2024, this release is one of the most unexpected great gems of the year. It’s the calm in the midst of a chaotic storm that is unquestionably needed.