by Chip Chandler — Digital Content Producer
Cleto Cordero figures he’s done a lot of growing up since writing his first songs at age 19.
The frontman for the five-piece Lubbock band Flatland Cavalry, Cordero’s now all of 23, but he’s showing a good deal more maturity on the band’s new album, “Humble Folks.”
The band will celebrate the release of the new CD with a 10 p.m. Saturday show at Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.
It’s a follow-up to last year’s five-song EP “Come May,” a sunnier album marked by tunes like “Summertime Love,” a song about young love and first kisses.
“The songs are from a different point in my life,” said Cordero, a Midland native who moved to Lubbock in 2012 to attend Texas Tech University. “When I wrote the EP, I was 19 or 20, and there’s a little bit of growing up between 19 and 22 or 23. Different stuff happens to you. The tunes on the full-length are more mature – a lot of folks might be surprised.”
Cordero and his bandmates tackle more serious topics like breakups and death on “Humble Folks.”
“I think the songs are better, and I know that’s weird to say because I wrote them,” Cordero said. “But there are definitely songs I’ve written that have sucked.”
Working with producer Scott Faris helped him hone his craft, Cordero said.
“He was always pushing me to make every line count,” Cordero said. “He told me that at the end of the day, (we’re) both fighting for the song.”
Cordero first began jamming with childhood friend Jason Albers in high school, convincing him to move to Lubbock to find a way into the Hub City’s music scene.
“I didn’t know anything, but there seems to be a pattern with these Lubbock guys (like Josh Abbott and William Clark Green), to start out at the Blue Light and build a following,” Cordero said.
The pattern is holding true with Flatland Cavalry, which signed with California-based booking agency Atomic Music Group within weeks of releasing “Come May.”
The new album features collaborations that speak to the band’s rising profile in the regional scene – duets with Kaitlin Butts on “A Life Where We Work Out” and William Clark Green on “Coyote (The Ballad of Roy Johnson).”
The band will stretch its touring schedule to East Texas this summer, but Cordero said he always looks forward to the Amarillo gigs.
“Amarillo has always been really cool for us,” he said.
Cover charge is $7.
For information, visit www.flatlandcavalry.com or www.goldenlightcantina.com.
