published: 9 /
12 /
2011
Label:
Western Vinyl
Format: CD
Eclectic and diverse debut solo album from Baltimore-based musician Carter Tanton, who is also the guitarist in Marissa Nadler's band
Review
The jangling kickoff to Carter Tanton’s ‘Freeclouds’, ‘Murderous Joy’ makes two things clear. First, despite his role as a guitarist in Marissa Nadler’s band he is not a weird folkie or the roots rocker of his days in Tulsa (the band, not the city); second, he is a very capable popsmith in the tradition of Crowded House when he wants to be.
As soon as song No. 2 kicks off, he, however, heads for stranger parts with a burst of metallic squealing, tambourine and electronic key chords. ‘Fake Pretend’ soon segues into a beautiful female voice before Tanton’s supple tenor takes over to proclaim his ‘Nobody’s Fool’ over a sonic web that takes equally from the Magnetic Fields and Lush. The dreamy acoustic guitar of ‘Gauze of Song’ sounds like something like Kurt Vile might have recorded, but with sharper production values. Tanton has a reputation as a production whiz, and it shows on the almost entirely self-made album. Even simple tunes like the instrumental ‘Nylon’ have an extra bit of pop sparkle. Tanton also does a find job of covering Sparklehorse’s ‘Saturday’ - his work is not dissimilar to Mark Linkous’s.
With his excellent vocal and musical skills, Tanton could probably make an entire album just singing and playing guitar (at some time, he probably should). But on ‘Freeclouds‘ he bounces back and forth between the fuzzy escapades of ‘Horrorscope‘ and more restrained tunes like the mournful ‘In Knots‘ with its shuffling drums and hushed plea that "Rain, rain, come on down/Find your way to the heart of town." ‘Landlines’ treats the listener to an electronica workout, with shuddering beats. ‘Pitch Bent Flute’ concludes the album, making open reference to David Bowie’s ‘Wild-eyed Boy from Freecloud’ from who the album draws its title.
‘Freeclouds’ is a fun bit of work, and could appeal to fans of such diverse acts aforementioned Sparklehorse, retropoppers like the Disomaniacs as well as more forward-thinking outfits as Miracle Fortress.
Track Listing:-
1
Murderous Joy
2
Fake Pretend
3
Gauze of Song
4
Nylon
5
Saturday
6
Horrorscope
7
In Knots
8
Pasture Sound
9
Land Lines
10
Pitch Bent Flute
Band Links:-
https://cartertanton.bandcamp.com/
Label Links:-
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