[Repost from Here Comes the Flood; by Hans Werksman]
Tracy Shedd returns to electric, eclectic indie rock with her new album The Carolinas. The first lines is of the opening track pretty much sums about what's top come on this concept album of moving to North Carolina with her husband James Tritten: If there's an easy way, no we won't take it. If there's an easy day, no we won't waste it".
The influence of the music of the couple's side-project Band & The Beat comes to the fore in the Free Love, with it's Eighties-inspired synth rhythm. Her love for garage rock gets a nod with songs like Kissing and Romancing and Good Times. Shedd is obviously quite happy in her new abode and her relationship is doing great as well (Letters). Few albums can earn the badge "all killer, no filler", but The Carolinas has every right to wear it proudly.
The Carolinas will be released on September 20 via Science Project Records (vinyl) and Fort Lowell Records (digital).
Tracks:
1) Catching the Breeze
2) Holding On
3) Free Love
4) Tinder Heart
5) Letters
6) Kissing and Romancing
7) The Rest Will Follow
8) Santa Fe
9) Good Times
10) 4:00 AM
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[Repost from Power of Pop; by Kevin Mathews]
The rest will follow...
There’s a calm assurance in Tracy Shedd‘s music making – a succinct understanding of where (and when) the foundation comes from with enough building blocks taken from personal experience and idiosyncratic nuances.
On her latest album (#6), The Carolinas, Shedd borrows liberally from 80s pop sources – specifically indie pop and synth pop – certainly a fecund period of pop-rock history, for sure.
A song like “Holding On” evokes New Order very strongly but features enough of Shedd’s own alternative rock sensibility to escape being labeled as simply derivative.
“Kissing and Romancing” is a straight-forward lo-fi indie popper with enough alt-rock energy to keep things this side of intriguing, whereas “Good Times” comes across with crystal clear melodies and chord changes that verges on power pop, but not quite, if you know what I mean.
Overall, there is a suitable minimalist approach that serves the dynamic songs very well. This allows Shedd’s personality to shine through without too much complication in terms of arrangements/instrumentation.
Opening track, “Catching the Breeze” is the current single and it is aptly titled, with a casual simplicity and tuneful engagement that begs repeated listens. The track is a fair encapsulation of what The Carolinas is all about. Shedd is content to make her music count for herself, without too much decoration but with enough conviction in the details to reward the dedicated listener.
Check out the video for “Catching the Breeze” below.
The Carolinas will be released on Friday, September 20th, 2019 on Science Project Records (vinyl) and Fort Lowell Records (digital)
… still there’s more …
