Dustin's Best of 2017, #8: Cayetana - 'New Kind of Normal'

In what seems to be a recurring theme with at least half of my favorite albums this year, I didn't realize just how much I liked Cayetana's New Kind of Normal until a few months after its release. This album came out in May and I remember listening to it once and thinking "oh yeah, this is pretty good. I need to listen to this a lot" but I never got around to listening obsessively the way that I had planned.

And then September came, and I flirted with the idea of moving to Philadelphia. On my bus ride there, I couldn't resist listening to New Kind of Normal and it was right then that it struck me that this album was what I needed to hear. I was in the middle of a funk when this happened- I had completely stopped talking to my ex at this point and the only other person that I felt comfortable enough with to have deep conversations wasn't returning any of my texts- so hearing the repeated refrains in "Too Old for This" and "Easy to Love" ("I don't want to think about this or you anymore" and "maybe you will find someone easier to love" respectfully) gave me something- strength/solace/I don't know- but it helped me feel less alone. (Coincidentally, that is another recurring theme with my favorite albums this year.)

I ended up not moving to Philadelphia... yet. I still haven't ruled out leaving Brooklyn, but it's not quite time for me. But even though I didn't go through with the move, I never forgot how New Kind of Normal helped me on that bus ride.

You can listen to New Kind of Normal below.

Recommended tracks: "Too Old For This," "Easy to Love," "Side Sleepers," "Certain for Miles," "Dust"


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