B-Side Guys

Musical gestation periods rarely span generations, but Casa Del Sol’s “Love In A Time of War” defies conventional creative timelines. Released in March 2025 from their debut album Strange Angels, this psych-rock ballad traveled a remarkable thirty-year journey from conception to completion—a path intertwined with frontman John “Mad Johnny” Modell’s most profound life transformations.

The circumstances of the song’s birth demand attention: composed spontaneously on the day Modell’s son Dylan entered the world, its melody was hurriedly preserved via payphone to answering machine, blood-stained and awe-struck in the disorienting contrast between delivery room intensity and deli counter mundanity. This origin story alone separates the track from typical songwriter narratives, but the cosmic synchronicity of recording it three decades later—with the now-adult Dylan present in the studio on his 30th birthday—elevates it from curious anecdote to generational testament.

Sonically, Casa Del Sol crafts a deliberate bridge between contemporary production and vintage psychedelic touchstones. Mighty Dave Pellicciaro’s rock & roll gospel organ provides the song’s emotional scaffolding, while Modell’s weathered vocals convey the hard-earned wisdom of someone who has witnessed both miracles and disillusionment. The quartet—completed by drummer Wally Ingram (whose résumé includes Sheryl Crow and Jackson Browne) and bassist Mike DiPirro—creates a soundscape that feels simultaneously reverential toward psychedelic traditions and refreshingly unbound by retro constraints.

What distinguishes this composition is how it recontextualizes itself across decades. Initially written as a meditation on witnessing both darkness and light simultaneously, the song has found new resonance in today’s fragmented world. Modell’s observation that “the best art is always made in times of turmoil” reflects his unique perspective—shaped by parallel careers in NFL team management (helping launch the Baltimore Ravens) and music production—on how creative expression responds to chaotic environments.

The track’s emotional power derives from its refusal to choose between optimism and realism. By acknowledging both the beauty of new life and the persistence of suffering, “Love In A Time of War” offers neither escapism nor despair but something more nuanced: recognition that human connection flourishes even in hostile conditions. This perspective aligns with Modell’s admiration for organizations like World Central Kitchen, whose humanitarian work in conflict zones exemplifies love’s persistent manifestation amid destruction.

For a band describing itself as “cinematic” and “socially-conscious,” this single delivers on both promises—painting an expansive emotional landscape while insisting that personal experiences, even across thirty years of dormancy, can illuminate our collective struggles.