Road tripping through the mind banks of nostalgia and visceral roads of memory lane conjures the contrasts of past and present. We compare the modern day realities with the yellowing photographs that are etched in the rogue's gallery of the heart, recollecting the good times we had, the folks we lost, the places that still remain and the beloved spots that now sit as lithified relics (pocked by the patina of time’s peculiar passages). Rock tumbling these comparative timelines in the halls of our consciousness, we parse out deeper meanings and resonances, holding on tight to the lessons learned from previous experiences of these former eras while reflecting on the degrees of sentimentality that continue to stir from within.

All of this and more permeates the landscapes of “Canyon” from Noelle & the Deserters, further complimented by the band made visuals filmed at Noelle Fiore’s hometown of Taos, New Mexico and all along the Rio Grande. Featured off their forthcoming album debut High Desert Daydream from Speakeasy Studios SF, their anticipated record first arrived on our radar with the debut of the excellent and wonderfully exuberant “Born in the Morning” courtesy of our friends at BFF.FM. DIY pop heads will already recognize Fiore from her work in Tim Cohen’s (of the Fresh & Onlys) Magic Trick, playing with Shannon Shaw of Shannon & the Clams and the Deserters themselves starring Graham Norwood (of Bryan Scary, Graham Norwood), Alicia Vanden Heuvel (from The Aislers Set, Speakeasy Studios SF founder), David Cuetter (of Tarnation) along with Noelle’s hubby Jerry Fiore (from Sonic Love Affair). The group shines a light on what contemporary Americana can be, dusting off the records of your favorite cosmic American psychonauts who established the sounds of the southwest and far beyond that connect the otherwise disparate interstates, lonesome highways and all but abandoned trails to the goldmine portals of fuzzy memories.

“Canyon” encompasses the High Desert Daydream in a return to the places of Noelle Fiore’s familiar on the roadways between Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The resounding twang of the Deserters resonates down the dusty asphalt flattops alongside the Rio Grande where the testaments to time seem to stand still, move slowly and roll like the wagon wheels in accordance to their own unique cycles. Noelle pays tribute to the temporal nature of the mom & pop shacks and humble establishments of her youth that remain as indelible fixtures in the mind. The group’s sound sweetly howls down these connective paths that crisscross the corollaries of consciousness where the finite and infinite exist together on the same plane of existence. “Canyon” carries forth like motorized tumble weeds rolling and freewheeling forward as a band of inexhaustive engines riding the trails of reminiscence toward destinations that turn over the hourglasses of time ad infinitum (where the sands stream in perpetuity).

The self-made video from Noelle & the Deserters brings “Canyon” to further life with visuals that capture the spirit of the southwest. Noelle tips her hat to Sugar’s now defunct burger stand, the former Embudo Station, and features performance footage from Daleee at Ktaos. From Taos the band revisits the Rio Grande Gorge, spending time at the iconic bridge in Pilar, meditating on memories of diving from the bridge into the river, reveling in the reflections that blend yesterday’s meaningful moments with today’s memories. The Deserters take you along for a road trip to the places that time has largely forgot, places that are etched in the embroidery of the heart, the sacred places of the personal and spiritual, the places where histories and the tomes of tomorrow stand tall like basaltic volcanic cones.

Noelle Fiore provided some meditative words on “Canyon”, memories and a whole lot more:

“Canyon” is the newest song on our debut record High Desert Daydream. It is the last song I wrote and it was workshopped then recorded during our 4 day recording session at Boxer Lodge in Angwin, CA, November 2023. Going into the session, I had no idea it would end up on the album. Now I can’t imagine it without “Canyon”. “Canyon” was a faint murmuring all last summer. My husband Jerry and I have a home in Taos, New Mexico where I grew up. We spent two weeks there in August/ September. I kept playing the verse chords almost every time I picked up my guitar. I couldn’t get the melody out of my mind.

The road from Taos to Santa Fe (the 68) is imprinted in my mind. It winds along the Rio Grande and there are many small towns along the river that I have vivid memories of from when I was young. Many of those memories are with my brother, who is estranged to me now. Sugar’s burger stand who had the best green chile cheeseburger around, Pilar where we would swim and camp and jump from the bridge into the river, Embudo Station where we would swim and where my dog almost drowned in the river...

“Canyon” is about coming home. It's about memories of how a place used to be, what it meant to you, how much it's changed and how much you’ve changed. It's a love song to the high desert landscape, the people who I grew up with, and the people I’ve lost. “Canyon” is a high desert daydream. We filmed the music video at places mentioned in the song and other places special and significant to me in Taos Valley while on tour last month.

Noelle & the Deserters’ debut album High Desert Daydream arrives May 31 via Speakeasy Studios SF.