THE CARMONAS: The Carmonas
The Carmonas
The Carmonas
Self-Released
The Carmonas are a family band built around singers Alison and Aaron and guitarist Chad. Their debut full-length album has eleven songs, all originals. Eben Cathey on banjo, fiddler Daniel Heacock and upright bass man Eric Wilkey complete the line-up occasionally augmented by drummer Tom Hoey.
There’s a fierce, upbeat feel and buoyant spirit in their songs and the way they play ‘em I find quite appealing and endearing. Bluegrass informs their music, especially the tracks without a drummer. Comparisons to Old Crow Medicine Show and The Avett Brothers spring to mind, but the Carmonas clearly have their own vision which unfolds as the album plays through.
After three songs all in the same middle tempo and all sung by Aaron to open the album threatens sameness, but these songs are strong enough to survive that threat as the fourth and sixth “Crickets” and “Salinas” are each slower, and the fifth “All Things Fall Apart,” Alison’s first lead vocal in the set, is a rousing bluegrass number that rocks!
As a record reviewer, one of the greatest joys is to stumble across a gem by an artist one knew nothing about previously. In that big stack of stuff that comes one’s way every one demanding attention, The Carmonas is one of those gems for me. Blindly, I slipped it into my player and it flat out won me over. Give it a try, and I’ll bet you’ll feel the same.
— Michael Tearson