2.01.2001

The Cautions will make you regular fans
By VAUGHN WATSON
Pop Music Writer, The Providence Journal

Band: The Cautions

Who they are (left to right): Matt Boynton, bass and vocals; Chris Newbern, drums and vocals; Eric Barao, lead vocals, guitar and synth; Jeff Caglarcan, guitar.

What they play: It's no wonder The Cautions sing about java in Coffee Shop Girl, the song launching their self-titled debut. The band's music is a brew of several styles.

Out of Print opens with modern-rock bass-and-drum sparring. Coffee Shop Girl flexes lots of fast-paced punk-rock drumming, the Beach Boys' punchy vocal harmonizing and Atari 2600 bleeps and sound affects.

The band goes two ways with its lyrics, too. Sarcasm is a big theme on Coffee Shop Girl, in which a singer wonders when he'll work up the nerve to ask out a coffee-shop waitress. "If she knew that I thought she's a hottie/ Would she still give me that free biscotti?/ Am I just another customer/ Or does she know how I feel for her?"

Out of Print 's lyrics are Henry Rollins-style poetry that tries to nail down nuances. "I won't miss your six month-old toothbrush with worn-out bristles in my medicine cabinet./ I won't miss the dirty old teddy bear you've had since you were two./ No, I won't miss you."

Influences: Boynton likes Fiona Apple, Bootsy Collins and Lenny Kravitz. Newbern and Caglarcan are influenced by Weezer. Barao counts The Cars, The Beatles and Elvis Costello as influences.

History: Barao and Caglarcan met in 1992 at Berklee College of Music. Caglarcan and Newbern played together with January, a Boston band. Boynton joined The Cautions last February.

Recording: The band recorded and mixed its CD at Diamond Hill Studios in Cumberland, and will release it this month.