Carrier
Self-titled EP
Self-released
Genres: indie rock, lo-fi
Oct 25 - 31 2004 |
Expecting standard twee pop, I was pleasantly surprised to discover
that Carrier's five-song EP was instead filled with angular,
somewhat Sebadoh-esque indie rock. Despite the funnily
drawn bear on the cover, this is distinctly serious
underground rock; it has lo-fi tendencies - probably due in part to
the band's limited resources - but this only adds to the charm of this
micro-produced artifact.
When Carrier is not playing their brand of jerky yet melodic
indie rock, they go for acoustic folk-pop. "Sioux
Falls" is the type of quiet, simple folk tune every rock record
has at least one of. Fortunately, the other four songs stick
with Carrier's dominant sound, which is much more
successful. "On Fire" and "Flesh" are the
EP's two best tracks, as they are the most catchy and interesting
pieces of music on here. The band's sound is somewhat familiar
(there's nothing here you haven't heard before), and isn't as
instantly catchy as you may desire - the guitars are the music's most
infectious element, in fact - but, if given time, their style can make
for an appealing, angular rock experience.
Five songs isn't enough to sell Carrier to me, but I can
definitely see the promise on this EP. If the band can vary
their sound a bit, eschew the acoustic diversions (or at least improve
them), and work on adding more hooks to their songs, they could really
have something. At this point, their potential is the main
attraction here.
75%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
5 tracks, distributed by the
band, released 2004] |
