Carlo Rincón, who performs under the alias San Andrea, has listeners longing for a sense of normalcy on his newest release, “Home Again.” Following his debut single, “Hot Lemonade,” Rincón opts for a folkier sound, as he details just how homesick he is after moving away to college. Though the song was originally written about missing his hometown, it has taken on a new meaning as COVID has many longing for the way things used to be, simultaneously creating a new kind of homesickness and redefining what home means.
The track begins with a fingerpicked guitar that instills an instant sense of notalgia. This is further heightened by Rincón’s vocal as his falsetto exposes the vulnerability of lyrics. This feeling carries us to the chorus as he sings, “Tryna make it cold when it’s warm in California / Guess I didn’t know that things would change when I left ya / Take me home again.” The instrumental break, before the second verse features snippets of audio from Rincón’s home videos, such as his family wishing him a happy birthday and his dad counting to five before Rincón jumps in the pool. The sentimentality allows listeners to be transported into their own childhood memories.
Rincón delves deeper into the feeling of homesickness in the second verse as he sings, “Lately, I don’t feel like me / Change my mind and turn back East / Spend my hours counting them / Rainy eyes still thunderin’.” While his lyrics paint a picture that listeners are able to step into and make their own, it is the “Ooooh”s that convey the most emotionality. Though the song was written pre-Covid, when Rincón began working on it again the message behind it hit him harder than ever. “It spoke louder to me, especially realizing that at any minute home could be destroyed and torn apart by a virus, “Rincon said. “And for many it sadly has, yet some of the world keeps taking it for granted.” The original message is only intensified by the world’s current state, making “Home Again” both a sign of the times and continually evergreen.
Featured image by Molly Waring
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