Tour Dates
09/20/11 Hi-Dive - Denver, CO ^
09/22/11 Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO 09/23/11 The Space for Ames - Ames, IA 09/24/11 The Mill - Iowa City, IA 09/25/11 Replay Lounge - Lawrence, KA 09/26/11 Soundpony - Tulsa, OK 09/27/11 White Water Tavern - Little Rock, AR 09/28/11 Earth House Collective - Indianapolis, IN 09/29/11 Schuba's - Chicago, IL # 09/30/11 Club Girabaldi - Milwaukee, WI # 10/01/11 The Terrace - Madison, WI # 10/04/11 Woodlands Tavern - Columbus, OH 10/10/11 The Middle East - Boston, MA 10/11/11 The Rock Shop - Brooklyn, NY 10/12/11 Cake Shop - New York, NY 10/13/11 Union Pool - Brooklyn, NY 10/21/11 AS220 - Providence, RI ^ w/ Ivan & Alyosha # w/ Dead Man WInter Read More The first time I heard of Caroline Smith was when Brody was raving about her. I think at the time, she didn't really a record or a full band (?), but from the looks of things last night - she seems to be doing quite well so far.
|
Full Disclosure: I would pay $15 for an album of Caroline Smith singing the alphabet song repeatedly for 40 minutes. Fortunately for those who don’t quite share my fanaticism, today’s release of Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps’ second album “Little Wind” offers a vastly more appealing product.
Funded in part by fan donations, over $7,000 was raised last spring to help promote and distribute the album, Little Wind departs slightly from 2008’s superb “Backyard Tent Set” – which was much more deeply rooted in a timeless (never anachronistic) folk – and ventures into the surrounding musical neighborhood. Piano? Check. Banjo? Check. Glockenspiel? Check. Ambient electric guitar? Wait - what? It quickly becomes apparent that the band has taken one step further from the victrola and nearer the iPod. One thing that hasn’t changed; Smith’s incredible voice. Breathy, soothing and sultry, she dances a vocal juxtaposition that is simultaneously exciting and calming. “Seductive lullaby” is a term that often comes to mind; even as the band is instrumentally rocking out, Smith’s voice keeps the mind firmly anchored in an innocent dreamland. Can you be anchored in Dreamland? Never mind. I say you can.
Drummer Arlen Peiffer (also of Minnesota indie flagship Cloud Cult), bassist Jesse Schuster and guitarist Colin Hacklander (recently replaced in the band by Dave Earl) are afforded the opportunity to flex their muscles creativity in an album that shows not just variety, but more maturity than the previous offering. Their turn toward a more traditional modern rock sound suits them, and the album doesn’t need a single track to carry the others. There’s no First-Song Hangover or Mid-Album Slump. It’s very decently balanced, from the surprising distorted vocals (so who decided to fuzz THAT voice?) of “Tank Top” to the charming girl-and-guitar (and glockenspiel) finale “Birch Trees & Broken Barns”, it’s a consistently great listen from front to back. I’ve always been a sucker for songs that start out slow and steadily build into a climactic crescendo; the a capella start of “Eagle’s Nest,” the lullaby-bell beginning of “Scholarships,” and the almost bluesy twang open of the lounge singer “Denim Boy,” each build to such an unexpected energy that I suspect more than a few casual fans on their upcoming tour, expecting acoustic guitar and tambourine, will be caught unexpectedly with ringing ears in want of earplugs. A somewhat more mid-level pace is on display in “Calliope,” which marries a space-echo-guitar-laid-over acoustic opening which gives way to a jungle drum chorus in a microcosm of the evolution the album displays. It lyrically shows growth as well, departing from Backyard Tent Set’s songs about relationships and focusing more on family imagery – frequently evoking the mother-child link – notably “Hannah,” written about Smith’s younger sister, an irresistibly adorable track brilliantly featuring Dark Dark Dark’s Nona Marie Invie on piano and vocals.
Following an unforgettable album release show in Minneapolis Friday, Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps have launched a fairly extensive US tour. Don’t fear the space echo. Embrace the glockenspiel. And if anyone can convince Caroline to call me and sing the ABC’s on my voicemail, I’d be in your debt.
Funded in part by fan donations, over $7,000 was raised last spring to help promote and distribute the album, Little Wind departs slightly from 2008’s superb “Backyard Tent Set” – which was much more deeply rooted in a timeless (never anachronistic) folk – and ventures into the surrounding musical neighborhood. Piano? Check. Banjo? Check. Glockenspiel? Check. Ambient electric guitar? Wait - what? It quickly becomes apparent that the band has taken one step further from the victrola and nearer the iPod. One thing that hasn’t changed; Smith’s incredible voice. Breathy, soothing and sultry, she dances a vocal juxtaposition that is simultaneously exciting and calming. “Seductive lullaby” is a term that often comes to mind; even as the band is instrumentally rocking out, Smith’s voice keeps the mind firmly anchored in an innocent dreamland. Can you be anchored in Dreamland? Never mind. I say you can.
Drummer Arlen Peiffer (also of Minnesota indie flagship Cloud Cult), bassist Jesse Schuster and guitarist Colin Hacklander (recently replaced in the band by Dave Earl) are afforded the opportunity to flex their muscles creativity in an album that shows not just variety, but more maturity than the previous offering. Their turn toward a more traditional modern rock sound suits them, and the album doesn’t need a single track to carry the others. There’s no First-Song Hangover or Mid-Album Slump. It’s very decently balanced, from the surprising distorted vocals (so who decided to fuzz THAT voice?) of “Tank Top” to the charming girl-and-guitar (and glockenspiel) finale “Birch Trees & Broken Barns”, it’s a consistently great listen from front to back. I’ve always been a sucker for songs that start out slow and steadily build into a climactic crescendo; the a capella start of “Eagle’s Nest,” the lullaby-bell beginning of “Scholarships,” and the almost bluesy twang open of the lounge singer “Denim Boy,” each build to such an unexpected energy that I suspect more than a few casual fans on their upcoming tour, expecting acoustic guitar and tambourine, will be caught unexpectedly with ringing ears in want of earplugs. A somewhat more mid-level pace is on display in “Calliope,” which marries a space-echo-guitar-laid-over acoustic opening which gives way to a jungle drum chorus in a microcosm of the evolution the album displays. It lyrically shows growth as well, departing from Backyard Tent Set’s songs about relationships and focusing more on family imagery – frequently evoking the mother-child link – notably “Hannah,” written about Smith’s younger sister, an irresistibly adorable track brilliantly featuring Dark Dark Dark’s Nona Marie Invie on piano and vocals.
Following an unforgettable album release show in Minneapolis Friday, Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps have launched a fairly extensive US tour. Don’t fear the space echo. Embrace the glockenspiel. And if anyone can convince Caroline to call me and sing the ABC’s on my voicemail, I’d be in your debt.
|
Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps at First Avenue, Minneapolis (09/16/11) |
)
