Anne Castellano & the Smoke consider the 'American Dream'

Sep. 9—Anne Castellano & the Smoke are not the first artists to call an album and/or song "American Dream" — or derivations thereof. Others who've been so inspired include Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Willie Jones, LCD Soundsystem, Ondara, will.i.am, Rodney Crowell, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and more.

And why not?

The phrase itself, once a bit of shorthand to connote the endless possibilities afforded in the U.S.A., has in recent years fractured and that's precisely the sort of thing that spurs artistic response.

To be sure, "the American dream" still has that original sparkle of optimism and hope — but not to everyone and not considering developments across the country's landscape in recent years.

For Castellano, the idea of naming the album "American Dream" was a result of a lot of impressions and emotions that reflect not just the political and social climate of the country during the Donald Trump administration, or more recently COVID, but also events happening in her own life.

"I'd already written what became the title song a while back," says Castellano by phone last week, "and it's about the dream being just out of reach."

Behind the "Dream"

The lyrics describe the despondency of someone struggling to pay the bills while the confident ambitions — possibly autobiographical and artistic? — of youth fade over time and against the relentless long odds of reality. The song's narrator laments being so tired after her day job that, by the time she gets on stage, she's already yawning. In the resigned chorus, Castellano sings, "My future's not so bright / I think I finally see the light / My American dream's completely out of sight."

"American Dream" was at that point just one completed song among several over a five-year period that Castellano brought to the band, which includes her brother Tony Castellano (drums, backing vocals and production/engineering duties) and Vincent Tuckwood (lead guitar, backing vocals and bass). At present, the Smoke is without a permanent bassist.

The decision to record an album came naturally as songs piled up and a theme emerged.

"It's been a while since we'd released anything," Castellano says, alluding to their full-length debut "Electric" in 2013 and the EP "Bridge to Nowhere" two years later. "The songs I was writing began to sort of reflect what the country's political climate was and what was happening otherwise. So the idea of an 'American Dream' made sense in a larger, overall and ironic context. And a year or two ago we decided to call the album 'American Dream' because the reality is that, for a lot of people, there's the lack of an American dream."

"American Dream" is a remarkably consistent effort across 14 tunes and includes particularly intriguing songs such as, along with the title cut, "Waiting for the Storm," "Bully," "Searching for the Reason" and "Living On the Run." There are also two carefully curated covers in an affectionate rendition of Roky Erickson's "Nothing in Return" and an arrangement of New Haven songwriter Christopher Bousquet's touching "In These Last Days."

Looking back after the album's long process, she adds, "I think the theme may have been subconscious all along — or at least we sort of recognized a direction when we were going along. Most of my songs have some basis in my life, and some more than others. Others became more directly related to what has been going on in the country, and so it ended up being a little more socially conscious and cohesive. It almost had to be that way."

The DNA of Smoke

"American Dream" is instantly recognizable to fans familiar with Castellano's longtime presence as a musician and volunteer/activist in the New London music scene. She writes tunes that mirror classic country or even punk in their straightforward chordal blueprints and her distinctive right-hand strumming pattern. At the same time, Castellano has a very pretty voice and a way with minor-key melodies that effect a spin on what you'd expect the music to demand. Add Tuckwood's Brit-pop way with electric guitar accents and flourishes, and Tony Castellano's solid, powerful backbeat, and the Smoke has matured and realized the band's early promise.

"I grew up on '50s and '60s country artists like Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams," Castellano remembers, "And my mom was a massive Elvis Presley fan. Then, of course, the Beatles happened and that was the first band I listened to on my own." A few years later, she heard the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" on the radio and was immediately captivated.

Castellano, a native of New Fairfield who attended the University of Connecticut before settling in New London — largely because of the immortal El 'n' G music club — fed her musical obsession by DJing for her high school and then college radio stations. She says, "I remember one of my first 2 to 6 a.m. shifts and playing 'Stairway to Heaven' and the Stranglers and the Teardrop Explodes and the English Beat. I'm a sucker for good melody."

Along the way, she picked up a guitar and starting learning to play. By the time she wrote her first song in 2004, all those influences had twirled into her creative subconscious and have evolved since — and her development has occurred in real-time with the evolution of the justly-hyped New London music scene.

Castellano first became familiar on local stages in acts like 9 Day Wonders and the Skinwalkers, The Cavities, alongside ex-Reducer Hugh Birdsall. As a solo artist, she released the album "What's Been Going On" before forming the Smoke, which became a regular presence at clubs, local festivals and in support of local charities. Castellano was featured on The Day's "Song Spinner" series and the Smoke also performed for The Day's "Live Lunch Break" concert series.

Along the way, Castellano has contributed to the scene in other ways. She's the longtime host of "Deranged Radio," each Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. on WCNI, and regularly compiles and distributes a comprehensive list of live music events in the region.

Carrying on

With concern over COVID-19, Castellano & the Smoke are forgoing any live performances or CD release parties for the time being. Rehearsals and recording sessions for "American Dream" over the past year and a half have been carefully organized in that context, Castellano says, and took place only with absolute precaution. Plus, they had the benefit of time.

"One of the realities of going through these times is that there IS a bit of luxury in the recording process," Castellano says. "We went back and changed a few things and re-recorded a few tunes and did a better job. We found that we were really liking the album as we went along, and that's always a good sign. On the other hand, we also had to resist the temptation to beat it to death because you could do that forever. In the end, the idea is to not wait another five years before the next album. But it worked out this time."