Cary Brothers - New Alum Cover & Date Announced!

I'm a big fan of Cary Brothers' music, from his first EP, All The Rage to his first album, Who You Are. On the singer/songwriter market, he's among the best out there, with a fantastic sound and presentation, one that has attracted quite a lot of attention. With his last album released back in early 2007, he's long overdue for a follow-up record, which will be released on April 6th 2010, titled Under Control.

At the risk of getting over excited for an upcoming album, it would be an understatement to say that this is a highly anticipated album here at Carry You Away. Who You Are was a fantastic mix of indie rock and pop music that went between the driving beats of Who You Are and Ride, to the softer, thoughtful songs on The Glass Parade and All The Rage. Even the album cover was an extremely well done touch, in a minimalistic fashion that still ranks high for quality. Brothers has created a good image for himself through all aspects of his music, from the cover to the sounds, and one can hope that this long haitus is a result of creative perfection and hard work.

Thus far, I'm happy with the cover, and hopefully, I'll be just as happy with the music that it contains.

Ride - Cary Brothers

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Coming Up: The Albums of 2009

As 2008 comes to a close, everyone is starting to think about the upcoming year and what will be coming out. There's never a shortage of artists who we always want to be releasing new materials, and already, I've started looking for what will be coming out in 2009. Here's what I'm really looking forwards to:

Untitled - Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is my all-time favorite band. I've seen them numerous times in concert, and for the past year and a half, there's been talk of first two albums, then a new album and a remake of an old one, and now another one. Their concerts have featured several new songs, such as I'm In Love (With Another Man's Woman) and Meltdown, two fantastic songs. The album was finished earlier this fall, but we haven't seen a title or track listing yet. The band has said that the album should drop around February sometime.

Untitled - Dave Matthews Band
All this year, I've come across rumors that Dave Matthews and his band will be returning for another studio album. I always look forwards to these, because they can really shape up and change their sound from album to album. Compare Stand Up to Under the Table and Dreaming, and you'll see what I mean. Considering that their last studio album was released in 2005, we're long overdue for another one. No title, release date or track list yet. I don't know if the death of bandmate Leroy Moore will affect this or not.

Untitled - Coldplay
With the highly sucessful release of Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends and Prospekts March this year, Coldplay has been unstoppable, it seems. Their songs are ever more popular, and for good reason - this has been their strongest year yet. With all the press, they've said that they'll be releasing a followup album next year, most likely in the fall/winter. Hopefully it'll be just as good.

Untitled - Cary Brothers
I've been seeing little bits here and there, so this is mostly speculation on my part, but Cary Brothers is back in the studio, recording a followup album. I was a big fan of Who You Are, and it was one of my favorite albums of last year.

Bloodbank EP - Bon Iver
This easily has to be the most anticipated album. For Emma, Forever Ago was brilliant, heartwrenching and emotional, and easily one of the best albums of the year. (You'll see it on my best albums list coming soon). There's an EP being released in January, entitled Bloodbank, and it can't come soon enough.

A Sucker's Dream - The Alternate Routes
The Alternate Routes released their first album last year, Good and Reckless and True, which I really enjoyed, and it likewise made it onto my best albums list last December. After the release of an EP this year, they'll be back with a new album with some of their new songs. From the first single, The Future Is Nothing New, this one will be another good listen.

Hazards of Love - The Decemberists
2006's The Crane Wife is a wonderful album, and it's fully turned me to the Decemberists (whom I really didn't like at first). It was a fantastic album, and while they've been releasing new materials this year via 3 EPs, Always the Bridesmaid, a new LP from these guys will be a welcome thing for sure. Should be due out May of 2009.

Battler - Gregory Douglass
Battler is the latest album from Gregory Douglass, and one of the tracks will be featuring Grace Potter. The first track, Broken Through is fantastic, building on some of the sounds from his last album, Up and Away, which I loved. Battler is coming in February of 2009.

Stay tuned for the Best Albums, New Artists and Songs lists, coming soon!

One

A year ago today, after some contemplation, I started off on this little experiment of a music blog. One year later, 425 posts and a total of 121,433 and 143,160 page visits (somewhat less unique visitors - this number is low, because I added on tracking a couple months after I started.) I'd say this is a success. The site has really grown over the past couple of months, and I've tried a number of features, such as the Cover and Original, Acoustic and Original, Live and Original, Artist Evolution, 80 Bands Around the World, Artist Comparison and a couple others. Some of those I haven't kept up with, but it's been a fun ride thus far.

The name Carry You Away came from a couple of songs, most notably Cary Brother's song Who You Are and Rilo Kiley's The Angels Hung Around. The idea was that music carries one away while listening. I liked the idea when I heard Who You Are, and it stuck.

From The Angels Hung Around:

"...'Till the angels hung around
as they carried me away."

From Who You Are:

"...You try to, but you can't move
As the windows crash around you
No one there to carry you away"

My main mission here is to highlight music that I like. Over the past year or so, my tastes have grown considerably, and I've found that there's a lot of stuff out there that I like. I've become a more competent reviewer and writer, partially because of the amount of writing that I've had to do for this site, and my tastes in music is more refined. I've met artists, taken tons of pictures, and found hundreds of new artists and songs that I never would have come across otherwise.

So, thank you to everyone for making the site a success, and for hearing what I've got to say about things.

Beginnings - Chicago
Thirty One Today - Aimee Man
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
One (Blake's Got a New Face) - Vampire Weekend
One Good Year - Slaid Cleaves

Who You Are - Cary Brothers
The Angels Hung Around - Rilo Kiley

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Artist Comparison: Cary Brothers / Chris Stills

Okay, it's been a long time since I've done a bunch of my regular features, and the recent A Fine Frenzy/ Chris Stills concert's got me back into the swing of things with a review, so here goes. Today, the two artists are Chris Stills and Cary Brothers, two singer/songwriters whom I've both seen in concert and whom I've become a fan of.

I've listened to Cary Brothers a lot more than I have with Chris Stills, because of Brother's heavy media influence with a number of TV shows and his stint on Garden State's soundtrack, along with his first album, Who You Are.

Stills and Brothers both play and sing in a way that's very similar to one another. They're both in the 'Adult Alternative' genre that's popular with the 20-30 year olds, and have an overall similar sound - both male vocalists, they both play piano and guitar, and have a good, solid tone to their sound. They're not carbon copies of one another, but while listening to both of their works, I hear a number of similarities.

Stylistically, they both have a good vocal range, and vary their energy and speed a bit - Blue Eyes vs. Who You Are for Cary Brothers and When the Pain Dies Down and Fool For Love with Chris Stills.

Additionally, they're both from California, singer-songwriters. I can really see these two guys touring together, or even collaborating - it'd be a fun listen. Most of all, they've both got a really solid sound that I really like, something that's pretty easy to listen to.

When the Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills
If You Were Here - Cary Brothers

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My Mix

I can't think of a good title for this mix of songs. I was fooling around with play lists on iTunes - I swear, it's a compulsion sometimes, when I came up with the first five songs, when I realized that I had something good here. When I got home from work, I pulled another dozen songs together to come up with this final list. I think that it's the best play list that I've come up with in a while. Let me know what you think:

Everybody Knows - Ryan Adams
Hang Around - Gregory Douglass
When The Pain Dies Down - Chris Stills
Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine
Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder
Good Man - Josh Ritter
Who You Are - Cary Brothers
Pressure Suit - Aqualung
Time Is A Runaway - The Alternate Routes
Toy Soldiers - Carbon Leaf
See The World - Gomez
Trouble - Ray LaMontagne
Place To Be - Nick Drake

Have a good weekend! Next week, regular features & an announcement for a new feature.

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Carry You Away's Best Songs of 2007

It was difficult to narrow down just ten songs out of everything that I've heard this year. But, here are the songs that I feel are the best that I've heard or enjoyed.

10 - Rangers, A Fine Frenzy

From A Fine Fenzy's debut album One Cell in the Sea, this song has a really good sound to it, with a pace and energy that really matches her tone. The chorus is a really good one, followed up with some fantastic lyrics. Everything really comes together nicely here for this tune. This song really turned me onto A Fine Frenzy, and will keep me listening for years to come.

9 - Heart Made of Sound, The Softlightes

The video for this song really got me hooked here, and brought me back time and time again for listen after listen. This song gives me the same feeling that I had on my best summers here in Vermont - sounds weird, but for some reason, I connect this song to walking around Burlington Vermont on a sunny summer afternoon. The sound here is bright, energetic and just fantastic. Even when I'm in a horrible mood, I'll listen to this and it'll bring me right back up.

8 - Seed of Wonder, Jesca Hoop

This song sounds really different, with some absolutely fantastic guitar work and vocals from Hoop. It's unconventional, with influences from Hip-Hop and alternative rock. It's got a lazy beat that's incredibly catchy.

7 - Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder and Everybody Knows, Ryan Adams (Tie)

This is a tie for me, because both songs remind me of the other. Hard Sun is a good, solid rock song, one that reminds me of driving on a highway, while Everybody Knows brings out the same feeling - both have a good beat behind it backed by lyrics and a sound that just works, really well.

6 - Vermont Avenue, Ferraby Lionheart

I didn't take to this song at first, but it grew on me quite a bit as time went on. Lionheart's voice is like gold here, lazy and seductive, with lyrics that match that. The guitar and drum work is wonderful, and I like this song more and more as time goes on.

5 - In the Mausoleum, Beirut

Beruit's back with more of a fantastic Balkan sound. This song starts off with a fantastic beat and sinks in with some fantastic vocals and lyrics. What's really catchy is the use of other instruments, such as their distinctive use of a trumpet and stringed instruments. This song floats along wonderfully through the entire three minutes.

4 - Time Is A Runaway, The Alternate Routes and Who You Are, Cary Brothers (Tie)

This was another tie for me, between Time is a Runaway and Who You Are. Neither song really stands out on a technical level, but both songs really grabbed me for their sound and lyrics. Who You Are has a wonderful LA sound to it with a fantastic beat and energy, while Time is a Runaway has some fantastic lyrics coupled with their vocals and background instrumentation. Both are songs to relax to.

3 - Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier!, Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans

Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albanians come forth with this fantastic ballad-like song that exhols the wonders of mounted cavelry, looking at their use through history. As a history person, this is just a wonderful song to pull apart line by line, and it's got such a fantastic song to go along with it.

2 - Ah, Mary, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

I knew that my #2 song would be a Grace Potter song, but it took me a little while to figure out which one. I went with the first one that I heard, Ah Mary, a sort of protest song that pulls you in nicely with Grace's fantastic voice before cranking it up a notch exactly a minute in as it turns to something you'd expect from some of their idols, like Neil Young. Their studio version seems to be a little subdued - go see this live for the full effect.

1 - Boy With A Coin, Iron & Wine

And my number one song of the year - Iron & Wine's Boy With A Coin. Like Grace Potter's album, there were a bunch here that could take the #1 spot, but there's something here. Maybe because this song stands out so much from Sam Beam's other songs and typical sound, or maybe because it falls into a fantastic beat and rhythm, this song just completely blew me away when I first heard it.

There you have it, the top 10... er... 12 songs of the year. Here are the ones that didn't quite make it:

Dreamworld, Rilo Kiley
Sea Legs, The Shins
Down The Line, Jose Gonzalez
Rumors, Josh Ritter
The Pretender, Foo Fighters
Dashboard, Modest Mouse
Keep The Car Running, Arcade Fire
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
Love Song, Sara Bareilles
Pressure Suit, Aqualung
Sci-Fi Kid, Blitzen Trapper
Eh Hee, Dave Matthews

There were others, but overall, fantastic year for music. Let's see what's next.

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Concert Online

Back in October, I posted up a review for a concert, Cary Brothers, Kate Vogele and Matt Nathanson. While poking around Archive.org, I came across the Matt Nathanson portion:

Intro
Car Crash
Wedding Dress
Lucky Boy > (I Want You to Want Me) !
Angel > I Saw
Princess > (Jesse's Girl) [Rick Springfield Cover] > Princess
Come On Get Higher
We Live as We Dream Alone (Gang of Four Cover) > Pretty the World...
Bent > Such Great Heights (Postal Service Tease)
To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts
Falling Apart
Still
Suspended
Forgiveness
Gone
Laid
Don't Stop Believing (Journey Cover) w/Kate Vogele & Cary Brothers
Amazing Again > Losing My Religion (REM Cover)
Answering Machine
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran)
All We Are

A lot of covers in there - Nathanson seems to like doing a lot of songs. Enjoy!

Weekend Mix

I didn't have anything planned to throw up here today, so here's a random smattering of songs that I really enjoy. So, some good stuff for listening this weekend:

Apologies - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Fa Fa - Guster
Fall Apart Again - Brandi Carlile
Freedom - Sara Wheeler
Lovesong of the Buzzard - Iron & Wine
On The Radio - Regina Spektor
Sister Jack - Spoon
Small Planet - Ferraby Lionheart
Torn To Tattered - Carbon Leaf
Who You Are - Cary Brothers

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Concert - Cary Brothers, Kate Voegele and Matt Nathanson

This weekend at the Higher Ground, I was able to see Kate Voegele, Cary Brothers and Matt Nathanson in the Higher Ground Ballroom. It was an okay night - not the greatest

Kate Voegele Set
One Way or Another
Wish You Were
Hallelujah (Cover)
chicago
Only Fooling Myself

I wasn't extremely impressed with Kate Voegele, who's recently scored her first album through the newly formed Myspace Records. She's got a fairly typical sound for a singer, and overall, there wasn't anything that really makes her stand out a whole lot. Not to say that she's a bad singer, because she's not. Maybe average. Her set was decent, fairly short, and she had some fun on stage. Maybe she'll get better with time.

Cary Brothers Set
Ride
Jealousy
Who You Are
If You Were Here (Thompson Twins Cover)
Honestly
Wasted One
Glass Parade
Blue Eyes

Cary Brothers was the one that I set out to see last night, and I finally got a shirt from their merch booth (I tried to get one last time I saw him and failed, because they ran out.) His set was a significant improvement over Voegele's, although because he wasn't backed by a larger group this time around, I wasn't as thrilled with his set as I was the last time that he was in town. His set was also a bit shorter. They did take the smaller group (only Cary and two others) and ran with it - they had a couple of songs that sounded a little different, like Wasted One and Who You Are, but the sound was good and he was probably the best singer of the night.

Matt Nathanson Set
Car Crash
Wedding Dress
Lucky Boy
-> I Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick Cover)
Angel
I Saw
Princess
-> Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield Cover)
Come On, Get Higher
Pretty The World
Bent
To The Beat of Our Noisy Hearts
Falling Apart
Still
Suspended
Snakes? (Patty Smith Cover?)
Gone
Laid
Smalltown Girl (Journey Cover) With Cary Brothers and Kate Voegele
Comfort Me
-> Losing My Religion (REM Cover)
Answering Machine
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran Cover)
All We Are

Matt Nathanson is a bit of an annoying twerp. He's a very good singer, but he reminds me a lot of Dane Cook. On stage, he's funny, often getting the crowd going and seems a little self-involved, but once he gets down to start playing, he and his group sounds pretty good on stage.
Matt was clearly the show for the night, with everyone there to see him. He's certainly popular with the college group and demographics. His songwriting is also about average, and his live show can double as a comedy one, which is fine, as long as he plays music. On stage, they've got a good sound, very solid, very good beat.

Overall, the entire night was pretty good, low key. I chatted with a couple people, took pictures, and enjoyed myself. This was the last night of the tour for this group of singers, and they seemed to really have a fun time. Cary and Kate both jumped on stage for one of Matt's songs, and Matt jumped into one of Cary's songs, Blue Eyes. It looked like they were also enjoying themselves.

More pictures here.

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New Cary Brothers Video - Honestly

I just came across this, a new Cary Brothers video with scenes from Feast of Love, which looks like a new movie coming out. The song was on his first album, Who You Are, a fantastic first album.

Looks pretty good - Brothers is certainly good at getting his music into films. I'll be seeing him next week when he comes to South Burlington with Matt Nathanson.

Honestly - Cary Brothers

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Five Bands that I've Seen

Ray Charles

- Ray Charles was probably one of the first artists that I saw in person who was a really big star. I don't remember a whole lot of the show, because I was very young at the time, but I do remember that he played a number of his classics and that in general, it was a fantastic night.

Georgia on my Mind - Ray Charles

Carbon Leaf

- I've seen these guys five times already, and they're certainly one of my favorite bands. I've enjoyed all of their concerts immencely, although some have been better than others. I can't wait to see them again at some point in the future.

Love Loss Hope Repeat - Carbon Leaf

Gordon Lightfoot



- Gordon Lightfoot has been a staple of my listening habits for a very long time, but it's only been within the past couple of years that I've really gotten to like his music. The concert that I was at really surprised me a little, but like the Ray Charles one, I was thrilled to hear a number of songs that I knew and enjoyed.

Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot

Cary Brothers

- Cary Brothers just got his main album out, and I was able to see him at the Higher Ground earlier this year, which was a very fun concert. He played a number of songs from his album, and had a duet with Priscilla Ahn, who opened for him. I got a chance to talk with him a little after the show, and he was a pleasure to talk with. I'll be seeing him later on this year.

Ride - Cary Brothers

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

- I've been out to see Grace Potter & The Nocturnals twice already this year and man, they're fantastic. Grace has an incredible sound, and the amount of energy that they had was just stunning. Plus, their music just rocks, and they look like they're having an absolutley fantastic time on in front of everyone.

Some Kind of Ride - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Other bands that I've seen:

The Wood's Tea Co. (Too many times to count)
The Alternate Routes
Priscilla Ahn
Stars of Track & Field
Steven Kellogg and the Sixers
Matt Nathanson
Paolo Nutini
Rane
Sara Wheeler

And ones that I'm planning on seeing:
B.J. Thomas
Billy Joe Royal
Brandi Carlile
A Fine Frenzy
Matt Nathanson
Cary Brothers
Dropkick Murphys (Maybe)

New Cary Brothers Video - Who You Are

Cary Brothers released his debut album a couple months ago, but the video has just been released for the title track, Who You Are. It's an interesting one to watch, and it's a fantastic song to boot, and it's actually where I got the title for this blog. You can get the video through iTunes as well if you want a better quality version - Here.

Cary is also going on tour this fall with Matt Nathanson, and will be hitting a number of cities. If he comes near you, I'd highly recommend checking the two of them out. I'll be catching them in Burlington:

Sep 28 2007 7:30P The Basement w/ Matt Nathanson Columbus, Ohio
Sep 30 2007 5:30P The Canopy Club w/ Matt Nathanson Urbana, Illinois
Oct 1 2007 12:30A The Late Late Show CBS
Oct 1 2007 7:00P The Blue Note w/ Matt Nathanson Columbia, Missouri
Oct 2 2007 7:00P The Bottleneck w/ Matt Nathanson Lawrence, Kansas
Oct 4 2007 7:00P The Majestic Theatre w/ Matt Nathanson Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 5 2007 7:00P Fine Line Music Cafe w/ Matt Nathanson Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 6 2007 7:30P House of Blues w/ Matt Nathanson Chicago, Illinois
Oct 7 2007 8:30P Blind Pig w/ Matt Nathanson Ann Arbor, Michigan
Oct 8 2007 7:00P El Mocambo w/ Matt Nathanson Toronto, Ontario
Oct 10 2007 7:30P The Rex Theatre w/ Matt Nathanson Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Oct 11 2007 7:00P Theater of Living Arts w/ Matt Nathanson Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 12 2007 7:30P The Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza w/ Matt Nathanson New York, New York
Oct 13 2007 8:00P Roxy w/ Matt Nathanson Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 14 2007 8:00P Higher Ground w/ Matt Nathanson S. Burlington, Vermont

Who You Are - Cary Brothers

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Cary Brothers

Singer-Songwriter Cary Brother has been a favorite of mine for a little while now. Most everyone would probably remember his song Blue Eyes, which was featured on the Garden State soundtrack back, a couple years ago. Since then, he's released a couple of EPs and a fantastic full length album, Who You Are.

He played up here at the Higher Ground last night, and I finally was able to get out to see him.

Two bands played before him, both linked on the same tour, a woman named Priscilla Ahn, who fits nicely into the chicks-with-guitars catagory and Stars of Track and Field, who're more of the indie-alt-rock field.
Ahn was the better of the two opening acts. While she's just starting out, she's got a good voice, and a bit of talent. She's still got a little ways to go, but I think that she'll be someone to keep your eyes on in the future. We'll be hearing from her soon - she's got a full length album that she's working on now.

Stars of Track and Field are interesting. They've got a decent sound, and when they want to, plenty of energy, although they started off their set with a more acoustic couple of songs before keying it up a bit. They're also worth looking into.

The best act of the night, of course, was Cary himself. Right off the bat, he and his band came on to the stage and cracked a couple of jokes with the audience, and then went through a fantastic set of music from both his new album and some of his older stuff, as well as a song that I didn't recognize. Here's the set list:

- Jealousy
- Ride
- Supposed To Be
- Wasted One
- (New Song)
- The Last One
- Honestly
- The Glass Parade
- If You Were Here (With Priscilla Ahn)
- Who You Are
- Blue Eyes (With Priscilla Ahn)

Ahn came on stage for two numbers with Brothers, which worked really nicely, although she was drowned out a bit by the second guitar and bass. Cary was as well a couple times. Overall, it was a fantastic concert. I got to talk with Cary for a couple of minutes after they were done, really nice guy, seems to really like his audience and chatting with them. He's playing at the Iron Horse down in North Hampton, Mass, today, and I'd highly recommend making it over to see him.


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