| Erland & The Carnival |
| Closing Time |
![Erland & The Carnival — Closing Time [August 25, 2014]](/obrazek/2/front-jpg-293/ "Erland & The Carnival — Closing Time [August 25, 2014]")
Erland & The Carnival — Closing Time
♠♠♠ Psychedelic folk-rock outfit that draws its inspiration from British folk icons like Pentangle, the Trees, and Fairport Convention.
© Erland and the Carnival (UK) @ Fri-Son, Fribourg, Switzerland, 04.05
Location: London, England
Album release: August 25, 2014
Record Label: Full Time Hobby
Duration: 37:04
Tracks:
01. Closing Time (4:03)
02. Wrong (3:30)
03. Quiet Love (3:27)
04. I Am Joan (3:35)
05. Radiation (3:47)
06. Is It Long 'Til It's Over (3:40)
07. Birth Of A Nation (3:53)
08. That's The Way It Should Have Begun (But It's Hopeless) (4:03)
09. They're Talking About You Again (3:59)
10. Daughter (3:07)
Band members:
♠ Simon Tong — Guitar, Harmonium, Zither, Backing Vocals
♠ Gawain Erland Cooper — Guitar, Vocals
♠ David Nock — Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals, Keyboards
♠ Andy Bruce — Synthesizers
♠ Danny Wheeler — Bass guitar
REVIEW
By DAVID SHEPPARD AUGUST 26, 2014; SCORE: ****
♠♠♠ Originally bonding over a mutual regard for Jackson C. Frank, Cooper and Tong’s work together as Erland & The Carnival has been largely predicated on reimagining British Isles folk forms — reaching an apogee on their 2012 Magnetic North sideproject. ♠♠♠ Recorded at Damon Albarn’s Studio 13, Closing Time proffers a refreshed direction, characterised by anthemic, opulently crooned pop-rock songs that sound like James channelling The Lightning Seeds (the title track; Birth Of A Nation), or Hot Chip playing tag with Metronomy (Wrong). Elsewhere, aching ballad Quiet Love swims in a lavish Tong string arrangement, and I Am Joan (a tribute to Cooper’s obstinate, Jeanne d’Arc-like personality, apparently) marries minor chord strums and Under My Thumb marimbas to psychotically wobbling electronics, while That’s The Way It Should Have Begun (But It’s Hopeless) — The Cars’ Drive by way of James’s Sometimes — just about lives up to its tragi-epic title. (http://www.mojo4music.com/)
♠♠♠ "When unassuming young Orkney music-maker Erland Cooper picked up his guitar and travelled the length of the country to play a show in London's Notting Hill, little did he know that a chance encounter with musical veteran Simon Tong (The Verve, The Good The Bad & The Queen, and Gorillaz) would be the start of a unique songwriting friendship. Together they formed Erland & The Carnival and now, nearly a decade later, arrives Closing Time the band's third, most accomplished album yet. Opening a new chapter, Closing Time is an understated, inward looking collection of songs that feature stunning string arrangements and Erland's impassioned vocals at center stage. But rather than the modern folk adaptations of traditional songs, children's poems, and ancient literature on the band's earlier albums or the pair's recent conceptual folklore project The Magnetic North, this time the band tell tales of a more personal nature. 'Previously we didn't know what we wanted to say or how to say it and would use stories and direct references to help us get to a place we could feel secure', admits Simon. Erland adds; 'in making this record we discarded an album's worth of material that sounded like the first two albums. We wanted to make something different doing another Jackson C Frank cover wasn't an option.' Above all, Closing Time is the very first time the listener can truly hear the wholly collaborative process that is Erland & The Carnival. Lyrical and musical duties have always been shared, yet here the combined creativity of the pair's working friendship is only solidified with Erland taking a more hands on approach to production. The string arrangements, brought about by the album's unashamed twisted and selfish love song Quiet Love , were scored by Simon before being recorded by a quartet in his living room later that week. Recorded in Damon Albarn's studio13 with previous Erland & The Carnival engineer Steve Sedgewick and mixed by London Grammar producer Tim Bran with Paul Weller guesting on two tracks. Despite creating more than 40 songs in the process of writing the album ( 'Some of the song melodies and ideas on this may have even been written when I was 21 to be honest. Hopeless certainly was', admits Erland), 'it was a brilliantly spontaneous and productive time taking just over 3 days to come to fruition. We learnt to be incredibly disciplined tells Simon. It feels like pruning a tree when you cut away the needless and weaker branches, what you get is something much fresher and stronger coming through."
Website: http://erlandandthecarnival.com/
© Vanesa Galvin // Also:
By Mary Chang on Wednesday, 27th August 2014 at 12:00 pm
Score: 8,5 / 10
♠♠♠ http://www.theregoesthefear.com/2014/08/album-review-erland-and-the-carnival-closing-time.php
By Neil Dowden | posted on 20 Aug 2014 | Score: ***½
♠♠♠ http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/erland-carnival-closing-time
Discography:
♠ 2009 Was You Ever See EP (Static Caravan, Oct 09, 2009)
♠ 2010 Erland & the Carnival (Full Time Hobby/Static Caravan, Jan 25, 2010
♠ 2010 Trouble in Mind EP (Full Time Hobby/Yep Roc, Oct 19, 2010
♠ 2011 Nightingale (Full Time Hobby, March 7, 2011)
♠ 2014 Closing Time (Full Time Hobby, TBD, 2014)
SIMON TONG
Born: 9 July 1972, Farnworth, Lancashire, England
Instruments: Guitar, keyboards, zither, vocals
Erland and the Carnival © Elena Osmann
_______________________________________________________________
| Erland & The Carnival |
| Closing Time |
♠♠♠ Psychedelic folk-rock outfit that draws its inspiration from British folk icons like Pentangle, the Trees, and Fairport Convention.
Location: London, England
Album release: August 25, 2014
Record Label: Full Time Hobby
Duration: 37:04
Tracks:
01. Closing Time (4:03)
02. Wrong (3:30)
03. Quiet Love (3:27)
04. I Am Joan (3:35)
05. Radiation (3:47)
06. Is It Long 'Til It's Over (3:40)
07. Birth Of A Nation (3:53)
08. That's The Way It Should Have Begun (But It's Hopeless) (4:03)
09. They're Talking About You Again (3:59)
10. Daughter (3:07)
Band members:
♠ Simon Tong — Guitar, Harmonium, Zither, Backing Vocals
♠ Gawain Erland Cooper — Guitar, Vocals
♠ David Nock — Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals, Keyboards
♠ Andy Bruce — Synthesizers
♠ Danny Wheeler — Bass guitar
REVIEW
By DAVID SHEPPARD AUGUST 26, 2014; SCORE: ****
♠♠♠ Originally bonding over a mutual regard for Jackson C. Frank, Cooper and Tong’s work together as Erland & The Carnival has been largely predicated on reimagining British Isles folk forms — reaching an apogee on their 2012 Magnetic North sideproject. ♠♠♠ Recorded at Damon Albarn’s Studio 13, Closing Time proffers a refreshed direction, characterised by anthemic, opulently crooned pop-rock songs that sound like James channelling The Lightning Seeds (the title track; Birth Of A Nation), or Hot Chip playing tag with Metronomy (Wrong). Elsewhere, aching ballad Quiet Love swims in a lavish Tong string arrangement, and I Am Joan (a tribute to Cooper’s obstinate, Jeanne d’Arc-like personality, apparently) marries minor chord strums and Under My Thumb marimbas to psychotically wobbling electronics, while That’s The Way It Should Have Begun (But It’s Hopeless) — The Cars’ Drive by way of James’s Sometimes — just about lives up to its tragi-epic title. (http://www.mojo4music.com/)
♠♠♠ "When unassuming young Orkney music-maker Erland Cooper picked up his guitar and travelled the length of the country to play a show in London's Notting Hill, little did he know that a chance encounter with musical veteran Simon Tong (The Verve, The Good The Bad & The Queen, and Gorillaz) would be the start of a unique songwriting friendship. Together they formed Erland & The Carnival and now, nearly a decade later, arrives Closing Time the band's third, most accomplished album yet. Opening a new chapter, Closing Time is an understated, inward looking collection of songs that feature stunning string arrangements and Erland's impassioned vocals at center stage. But rather than the modern folk adaptations of traditional songs, children's poems, and ancient literature on the band's earlier albums or the pair's recent conceptual folklore project The Magnetic North, this time the band tell tales of a more personal nature. 'Previously we didn't know what we wanted to say or how to say it and would use stories and direct references to help us get to a place we could feel secure', admits Simon. Erland adds; 'in making this record we discarded an album's worth of material that sounded like the first two albums. We wanted to make something different doing another Jackson C Frank cover wasn't an option.' Above all, Closing Time is the very first time the listener can truly hear the wholly collaborative process that is Erland & The Carnival. Lyrical and musical duties have always been shared, yet here the combined creativity of the pair's working friendship is only solidified with Erland taking a more hands on approach to production. The string arrangements, brought about by the album's unashamed twisted and selfish love song Quiet Love , were scored by Simon before being recorded by a quartet in his living room later that week. Recorded in Damon Albarn's studio13 with previous Erland & The Carnival engineer Steve Sedgewick and mixed by London Grammar producer Tim Bran with Paul Weller guesting on two tracks. Despite creating more than 40 songs in the process of writing the album ( 'Some of the song melodies and ideas on this may have even been written when I was 21 to be honest. Hopeless certainly was', admits Erland), 'it was a brilliantly spontaneous and productive time taking just over 3 days to come to fruition. We learnt to be incredibly disciplined tells Simon. It feels like pruning a tree when you cut away the needless and weaker branches, what you get is something much fresher and stronger coming through."
Website: http://erlandandthecarnival.com/
By Mary Chang on Wednesday, 27th August 2014 at 12:00 pm
Score: 8,5 / 10
♠♠♠ http://www.theregoesthefear.com/2014/08/album-review-erland-and-the-carnival-closing-time.php
By Neil Dowden | posted on 20 Aug 2014 | Score: ***½
♠♠♠ http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/erland-carnival-closing-time
Discography:
♠ 2009 Was You Ever See EP (Static Caravan, Oct 09, 2009)
♠ 2010 Erland & the Carnival (Full Time Hobby/Static Caravan, Jan 25, 2010
♠ 2010 Trouble in Mind EP (Full Time Hobby/Yep Roc, Oct 19, 2010
♠ 2011 Nightingale (Full Time Hobby, March 7, 2011)
♠ 2014 Closing Time (Full Time Hobby, TBD, 2014)
SIMON TONG
Born: 9 July 1972, Farnworth, Lancashire, England
Instruments: Guitar, keyboards, zither, vocals
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