Paul Cafcae is back with an affecting new single, “Fresh Wind Blowing,” a call to arms. As the initial taste of that forthcoming album, this is a see-set closer, lovely mid-rhythm, and a good build toward a body of work that will both rattle and elevate.
In “Fresh Wind Blowing,” Cafcae draws on the deep history of folk protest music, reaching back to the spirits of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, John Lennon, and Willie Dunn. But make no mistake. It’s a timely and vital response to the world we currently inhabit. At each line, Cafcae injects an unfiltered sense of awareness into the listener, pulling us into a place of reckoning and resolve.
Based on the driving acoustic riffs, constructed from Cafcae’s patented “power roots” sound, the song plays out like a smoldering fire, unadventurous but impossible to miss. The instrumentation is spare but potent, a wake-up call, a call to action, and unassuming strength. Cafcae does not have a high horse to climb upon. Instead, he walks with us into the storm, articulating a common hunger for something better.
“Fresh Wind Blowing” is music that does not want to stand politely in the background. It insists on attention not with noise but with intention. Paul Cafcae is shaping up to foster not just a gifted songwriting voice but also a torchbearer of the socially conscious tradition, a role he assumes with grace and clarity.