Carta || The Faults Follow
Recorded over
an unusually stressful period for the band (family members with cancer, death,
rehab, and divorce), there was a desire to abandon previously established
templates and try something new . Paranoid inner-vacuum micro-dub and
ruminative post-space hypno-drone? The first Carta album to feature vocals
throughout, the band soaked in influence from Young Marble Giants, Disco
Inferno, and latter day Hood, with electronic elements giving lift to the
songs, and members swapped instrumental duties around as the songs called for
it.
The Faults
Follow was recorded by the band at home and at Studio 3431, and was mixed by
Jay Pellicci (the Drift, Deerhoof, Death Cab for Cutie) at Tiny Telephone in
San Francisco.
Carta’s first
release under the Saint Marie logo can now be pre-ordered on CD or vinyl here. Enjoy the following review of The Faults Follow, penned by our friend and fellow music junkie Elizabeth.
Carta || The Faults Follow
Reviewed by Elizabeth Klisiewicz
This San
Francisco ensemble defies categorization, mostly because they use a kitchen
sink approach and employ many different musical styles in their gorgeous
melange of sound. I’ve read the press kit and numerous glowing reviews from
music writers, and they compare Carta to many bands I’ve never listened to. So
maybe I am starting from a disadvantage here, or possibly it’s a plus that I
don’t have preconceived notions of what it’s supposed to be.
Like Hammock
and other instrumental bands, Carta evokes emotion from their sound rather than
from their words. Vocals are almost an afterthought, though guest vocalist Odessa
Chen’s lilting voice is clearly in the foreground on “The Iowa Fight Song.”
Through death, divorce, and illness, they’ve managed to pull off something that
is beautiful yet challenging. It unveils itself over time and reveals many-hued
layers of complexity, yet it can also be boiled down to simple melodies...
