Carcrashlander

PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN
Carcrashlander press/album reviews: I don't know why Desert City Soundtrack called it quits, but I miss them all the same. I'll give credit where it's due to any band trying to expand the boundaries of genre and DCS gave it a good try with post-hardcore. Cory Gray, Matt Carillo, Caitlin Love, and Bryan 'Nightdog' Wright pushed a genre plagued by stiff rhythms, twitchy guitars and more Fugazi sound-a-likes than you can shake a stick at toward a fuller, looser end by incorporating elements of slowcore, post-rock, and jazz into their fiery compositions. Toward the end of the band's tenure, Cory managed to slip me a CD-R of some stuff he was working on as a side-project at the time called Carcrashlander. It was an even more somber, personal affair than what most will remember of Desert City Soundtrack. Not to detract from that band's material, Carcrashlander features many of the same players but it's obvious that this is Gray's baby through and through. Carcrashlander sort of picks up where the last Desert City Soundtrack album left off. It dispenses with any remnants of the harsher side (no screaming, no explosive crescendos) and instead favors the kind of candle-lit bedroom feel of early Low albums. It's definitely more in the singer-songwriter vein of stalwarts like Nick Cave or in some of the less successful songs Randy Newman. For instance, 'Gold Sunset' and 'Carbon Waltz' are born of the same bleary-eyed state that birthed DCS songs like 'Batteries' and 'Mothball Fleet (Counterattack).' Parks & Records is a good label to throw your money at as well. The packaging on their albums is made of 100% reused/recycled materials. The label also supports other organizations that focus on keeping the planet green. As one of the initial releases on the new label, Gray's Carcrashlander is a great place for them to start. Fans of Desert City Soundtrack would do well to follow Gray into whatever territory he mines from here on out. I think this solo outing is a good indication that the guy has plenty of talent to burn and his light isn't going out anytime soon. - Delusions of Adequacy I first met Cory Gray (aka Carcrashlander) shortly after moving to Portland as he was then the piano player for local emo heroes Desert City Soundtrack (I may have met him briefly in my previous home of Santa Rose, California as that was where he moved here from as well). I could tell from local D.C.S. gigs that the guy was supremely talented and he has since lent his talents to records by plenty of other folks both local (Decemberists, Norfolk and Western, etc.) and beyond (Aussie popster Darren Hanlon) but Carcrashlander is his solo baby. Some of the earlier Carcrashlander stuff I heard was basically Cory and his piano but on most of these songs he has other players help him out and most songs get the full band treatment. The first cut, 'Gold Sunset' perfectly sets the tone for the record where an air of mystery surrounds it all while 'Carbon Waltz' was more upbeat and even a bit, playful and 'The Skin that You've Grown' has an otherworldliness about it (hard to describe but it's there). As opposed to musicians who can simply play, Cory can write well-crafted pop songs too and I have to say, this debut full-length is full of them. - Daggerzine Indie rock doesn't have to be innovative to be successful. Sometimes the prudent use of a few simple tools, injected with soul and passion, can produce a result far beyond the sum of the musical components. Similarly, strident political exhortation can be bracing, and at times inspire contemplation, then action. But sometimes the most potent politics are implicit, following the example of Fugazi's poetic lyrics and principled approach to their 'business' dealings. In a time when much of indie/punk's connection to progressivism has been blurred or lost, a new band and label arrives with a creative approach. Carcrashlander is Cory Gray, formerly of Desert City Soundtrack, a Portland band that blended somber melodies, pensive piano passages, and thrashing DIY hardcore noise into an emotionally resonant clusterfuck. In a good way. His new approach relies on the first two, excludes the loud parts, and adds some very nice progressive lyricism and a heavy dose of supplemental instrumentation, precisely played and painstakingly arranged. The CD comes in a post-consumer cardboard sleeve, it's grainy brown embellished with a simple screen-printed image, the band name and a campfire. The minimal packaging and humble, nature-themed art suggest the label, Parks and Records, is ecologically conscious. Indeed, they donate a portion of proceeds to the National Arbor Day Foundation and other green organizations. As ecology becomes a larger issue for progressives, it seems likely to be a major focus of politically conscious art in the years to come. Park and Records and Carcrashlander are leading the way, and doing so in a gentle, artistic manner. - 30music.com Possibly the most eco-friendly record label has produced one of the most sustainable records of the year. Housed in an individually hand-stamped, recycled office paper sleeve, the album appears crude and simplistic, but the nobility behind reducing carbon by eliminating plastic jewel cases reveals a thoughtfulness and acumen that's also found in the rich, buoyant songs on the album. Singer/songwriter Cory Gray offers an answer for those seeking the next Black Heart Procession or Songs: Ohia. The songs on Carcrashlander are static-free, clean, richly produced and largely piano driven - minimalist dark tunnels centered on Gray's deep, inscrutable voice. The debut is a cohesive work and, like any BHP album, it feels vintage, like a treacherous waltz or like the dark, slowed moments of later Tom Waits. Songs typically arrive with gentle piano chording and patiently paced drums, dotted by subtle dirty electric guitar and synths. Undeniably, the heart of the album belongs to Gray, whose voice and words elevate the placid instrumentation into inexplicable gorgeousness. This is especially pronounced on the song "Branches Made of Money," which effortlessly flows with ride cymbal pings and a hauntingly stark piano melody as Gray sings in near conversational tones, "I sleep with sleepless horses racing / From a source that somehow forces me to ignore everything / It's not enough / It's hot enough in the summertime / It's hard enough / It's hot enough outside." With all of Gray's doubled harmonies and dark broodiness, the result is an artful, delicate and completely indelible series of emotional experiences. If this debut album is a sign of things to come for this equally debut label, tell Jagjaguwar to scoot over and make room for the new guy. - West Coast Performer (CD of the Month! April 2008) There's an autumnal grace to Carcrashlander's self-titled debut album - an almost three-dimensional quality that feels less like listening to a soundtrack than being in the film itself. The hushed vocals of singer-songwriter Cory Gray and spare piano provide the anchor for Carcrashlander's evocative chamber pop. Horns and strings swirl in and out of the mist, sometimes woozily, sometimes to a spectral effect, but always in a way that's genuinely mesmerizing. While most of the songs could easily provide the background music for a regret-filled stumble through the streets of New Orleans as the sun is just starting to peak on the horizon, tracks like "Carbon Waltz" and "Quoting Dead Comedians" pick up the pace and add a healthy dose of variety to a record that promises to be one of '08's best local offerings. - The Portland Tribune I've seen Carcrashlander compared to Randy Newman and I can't stand Randy Newman. After listening to the debut album (and first release by green-focused Parks and Records), one of two things must be true: Either the Randy Newman comparison is inaccurate or I need to reconsider my feelings about him. Or perhaps there is a third possibility: Carcrashlander gets very close to a line (that N

Number of Discs: 1

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