All The Way To Déjà Vu - haven't we been here before?

I’ve always loved songs where the harmony lines can join in with the melody anywhere. A melodic chord structure I’d been working with had an Eagles / Laurel Canyon Californian feel to it, and I liked how it resolved back to the beginning smoothly, almost like Déjà Vu, despite switching from a minor to a major key and back again. So the first lyrics were something like “hmmm hmmm hmmm dee dooo all the way to Déjà Vu,” and whilst I like country songs naming places, I didn’t want to go down the “she had a face like Arizona, as she danced like Philadelphia” route.

I love driving to new places with my favourite songs blasting out of the speakers - Sugarland, Keith Urban, Ashley McBryde etc. Then when you arrive at your destination you get out of the car, straighten your shirt and pull your trousers up, probably brush off a few crumbs. The idea that we measure our journey in how many albums it takes to get there, not the actual miles travelled, just felt natural and relaxing (though maybe not if you only fast forward through playlists). That lesser heard 7th track comes alive as you drive through a new village, taking your time, feeling the music as you drive between the trees and breathe in the places along your journey.   

“All The Way To Déjà Vu” was the first song I played when Laura and I first met up in late 2021. She was probably still getting over the “who’s this baldy at the door in a Covid mask?” stage at the time. The song came together before we even had a drummer, and then our first drummer couldn’t work out where the verse ended and the chorus started, which I’ll take as a compliment. As we completed the band line-up, the size of the song took shape. Pat and I were able to harmonise with Laura’s lead vocal, whilst forming a solid base for me to drift through the legato guitar solo.

We originally released the song in May 2024, and BCMA made it their Editor’s Choice that month. After recording our first 5 songs for our debut EP "You're Melting Me" in the studio, this was my first go at home recording (apart from the drums) and we were pretty proud of the results. However, the more I experimented the more I learnt so we completely re-recorded the song for our debut album “Better In A Hat” and we’ve played it on at least 80 live shows now, and Pat has often performed the song on acoustic guitar giving it a more acoustic feel.

Whilst mixing the album, I also played about with different intensities of mix. Some people like the big polished production, others prefer it stripped back and a bit more lo-fi, so I found a compromise in this “ECO Mix”. We all liked the more laid back feel the song has, like driving an open-top American car on a summer's day, so we included it on our “Chasing The Season EP” released in November 2025. It isn’t a purely acoustic version of the song because there’s still some electric guitar in there, but it’s just the room mic on Craig’s drums, some of the beefier tracks silenced, whilst other tracks, like mine & Pat’s acoustic and Dave’s piano, are more pronounced. We hope you enjoy our little musical journey and play it loud in your own car too.