Listen: Casa Del Sol Find Beauty in Chaos with New Single “Love in a Time of War”
Casa Del Sol have released “Love in a Time of War,” an instrospective and insightful new single with personal origins. Still riding a high after the release of their debut album Strange Angels at the end of January, the adventurous psych-rock quartet’s latest offering shows frontman John “Mad Johnny” Modell’s skill as a songwriter and performer alike as he channels insights from his own life into a reflection on duality in the world
Modell originally penned “Love in a Time of War” on the day his first son Dylan was born, overcome by the complex and life-changing experience of fatherhood. “His birth was difficult—he was a ten-pounder—but after the smoke cleared, I knew I had witnessed something miraculous,” the artist recalled in a release. “By that point in my life, I had become a bit cynical after learning how the world works. But there I was, seeing life begin in front of me. Afterwards, I ran across the street to get some food for his mom, still covered in blood, and in that moment of contrast—between this deli, where life carried on as usual, and the miracle I had just witnessed—the song literally downloaded into my head. I had to run to a payphone and sing it into my answering machine so I wouldn’t forget it.”
Thirty years to the day after that moment of divine inspiration, unexpectedly, Modell joined his bandmates Wally Ingram, Mike DiPirro and keyboardist Mighty Dave Pellicciaro in the studio to set the song to tape. The quartet communicate the revelatory tone of Modell’s writing with an electrifying arrangment, swirling radiant organ, hard-hitting roots rock percussion and rambling guitar into a freewheeling haze that evokes Casa Del Sol’s home in San Francisco. With Dylan present to witness the recording, the track lands today as a moving full-circle moment and a pertinent message for trying times.
“The best art is always made in times of turmoil,” Modell shared. “This song is as relevant today as it was the day it arrived.”
Listen to “Love in a Time of War” below and on all streaming platforms now. Learn more about Casa Del Sol at casadelsolmusic.com.
