Carry Illinois – Siren
[EP]
2014, Carry Illinois
2014, Carry Illinois
Austin folk rockers Carry Illinois take Americana back to its
roots on their debut EP Siren. Singer/songwriter Lizzy Lehman is a
folksinger at heart, carving her songs from the same emotional and musical
bedrock as artists such as Carole King, Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell and Shawn
Colvin, to name a few. Carry Illinois is
Lehman (vocals/guitar); Nick Droz (bass); Rudy Villareal (drums); and Darwin
Smith (guitar). Together, Carry Illinois
take Lizzy Lehman’s folk songs and turn them into alt-rock/Americana creations
with higher musical pretensions, all while maintaining Lehman’s adroit sense of
place in the world.
Siren opens with "Weakest Limb", a method
rocker with an incessant whine and minimalist aspirations. What is meant,
perhaps, as a mea culpa becomes a chant like affair. "Siren" is built
upon a similar precipice, driven by an anachronistic lead vocal and sparse
instrumentation occasionally beefed up by an electronic rhythm.
"Jackson Square" is a dream-fuzz treatise on disillusionment
and broken dreams. This is hardcore melancholy, but has its own quiet beauty.
Carry Illinois gets vocal effects happy on "Nothing To Despise", a
sonic self-immolation that's nearly painful to hear. Carry Illinois closes with
the Appalachian influenced "A Good Farewell", a terminally melancholy
affair that struggles to escape the weight of the vocal line.
Sometimes a dish made with a mass of sweet ingredients still
winds up sour. That’s the net outcome
for Siren, which has great
aspirations and great talent behind, but Carry Illinois has yet to find cohesion
in the studio. Art is a fine aspiration,
but the nuts and bolts need to be attended to.
There are some great moments here, especially “Jackson Square”, but
Carry Illinois is still exploring who they are as an outfit, and all of the
pieces don’t fit squarely together yet.
That will come in time, and I would expect bigger and better things out
of the band the next time around.
Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more at www.carryillinoisband..com.
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