Carry Illinois' Garage Sale on CD

It's probably not fair to say that Carry Illinois is Lizzy Lehman, 'cuz there is a whole big band standing behind her and playing solid mid-tempo rock. But she's the one out front, exposing her vulnerabilities, her fears and her longing. Behind the scenes, however, it's this Austin-based quintet as a whole that's been through the so-called ring of fire, and this new six-song EP is all about putting things back together after they've fallen apart.

I reviewed Carry Illinois' album Alabaster back in 2015 and described it as "empty and reverberent and reminds you of a late night performance that started long after midnight because the opening acts couldn't get their shit together." (I meant empty as a compliment, as in a sparse sound in a big space.) Since then the band has been struggling to deal with the suicide of original bassist John Winsor. As Lehman has said, "Why is it so hard to restart? Why is it so hard to put the parts back together?"

It's good news that Carry Illinois has put the parts back together with new bassist Andrew Pressman, along with drummer Rudy Villareal, guitarist Darwin Smith and keyboardist Derek Morris. I liked Alabaster but found it to be composed of familiar pieces. Garage Sale is more of an honest expression of where the band and its music fits into the world--sad and wounded but trying to move to the next phase. It's disheartening when a band can't quite manage this--think of Lush--but Lizzie's strength and persistence is present in every word she sings. That adds another layer of depth to the music which is mighty compelling.

If this sounds like a bit of a downer, it isn't. If you listen to Garage Sale without knowing the backstory, you'll find these six songs to be positive and encouraging and even hopeful. If you know what the band's been through in the last couple of years, however, the sadness is right there staring back at you. In the closer, "Goodnight," you can't help but feel all of the pain and the wondering and the confusion. Lehman sings that she wants to be able to "look at all my friends, my dearest family, wishing happiness to call and take the place of agony."

As an anthem, it's a bit heavy. But as a closing thought, a conclusion, it's the very definition of hope.

Carry Illinois' Alabaster on CD

At first listen, Carry Illinois' new album Alabaster sounds like that of many an Austin-based band. Classifying themselves as indie folk-rock, this band starts with a polished and confident amalgam of Americana, Texas C&W and straightforward rock that would play well at The Continental Club on South Congress. The ten songs here are brief and succinct, in a poppy sort of way, resulting in the sort of album a band might release well into their career, long after they've stopped playing in roadhouses for cash that barely covers their pre-show bar tab.

Yet there's something deeper here, something that ushers the music down a stranger road. Singer/guitarist Lizzy Lehman has that same throaty and assertive tone that might remind you of a mix between Neko Case and Stevie Nicks, but it's coated with a slight patina of despair that suggests she's been down this strange road on many other occasions, and even though it's dark and you can't quite see ahead it's okay because you have a competent guide who may or may not care what's found at the end of the cul-de-sac. It's almost a tinge of goth, a Texan Siouxsie Sioux who's witched from absinthe to Shiner Bock.

Much of this distinct tone is created by the production. While most of this album was laid down at Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, there's that empty and reverberant and reminds you of a late night performance that started long after midnight because the opening acts couldn't get their shit together. While I felt like much of the lyrics here are a little on the safe side, a mixture of the literal and the love song cliche, they're delivered with conviction as if they've been lived instead of written down on a legal notepad. The rest of the band, which includes drummer Mathias Kunzli, bassist Benjamin Campbell and keyboardist Frank Locrasto, are solid enough to sound like old session musicians who know the right riff and right fill for any occasion.

This is yet another CD from a burgeoning new band that relies quite heavily on what has gone before, yet knows how to deliver it all in a compelling package.