Cary Brothers - Under Control

[Thomas Nassiff]

Cary Brothers - Under Control
Record Label: Procrastination Music
Release Date: April 6, 2010

Every time I hear a singer/songwriter that I don't like, I blame Bob Dylan. I curse him in my mind directly. "It was you, Bob Dylan. You are the reason for me wanting to hammer nails in my head while I listen to this guy with his baby-soft yet rugged voice and acoustic guitar." That being said, some excellent musicians have been spawned by the Dylan movement, including my favorite musician of all time. So I usually end up thanking the world for Dylan more than vice versa. And if Bob Dylan had any influence on Cary Brothers' new record, Under Control, then I owe him one more thanks.

Brothers has the perfect voice for the music he writes (he is a person, not a band of brothers with the same last name...I know, me too). Soft yet not contained, Brothers unleashes the full force of his phenomenal vocals on all ten tracks of Under Control. Complemented by a beautifully arranged musical landscape, Brothers lets his voice, well, do the talking on the stunning follow-up to 2007's Who You Are. The album jump-starts with "Ghost Town", an upbeat, rhythmic song highlighted by a soaring chorus. Right from the beginning, Brothers gives first-time listeners a good view into what to expect on Under Control, simply owning the song with his voice. Next up is the piano-led title track, which harmoniously soothes the listener's ears. As corny as it may seem, Brothers nailed the title of this record - if you're having a bad day and seem to be losing it, a listen to this album might just help get you back under control.

"Break Off the Bough" and "After the Fall" are a one-two combo featuring catchy choruses. The former is more guitar-centered than the previous tracks, making it great to sing along to. The latter hit me hard upon first listen, ultimately helping me realize that Under Control is quite obviously a candidate for the best album to of the year. Brothers' voice in both of these tracks reminds me slightly of some of Chris Carrabba's work in Dashboard Confessional, but Brothers executes his melodies flawlessly and with what seems to be an air of confidence. "Someday" starts off like a track off of The Killers' Sam's Town before cascading into yet another home run of a chorus. Skipping ahead a little, "Alien" is a collection of every good thing about Under Control. Piano-driven with an acoustic guitar providing the spark, this is the best track on the album. Each successive chorus gains another instrumental layer, showing Brothers' remarkable musicianship while not taking away from the accessibility of the track. Finally, the album closes out with two acoustic guitar-laden songs, both of which I thought would be successful in finishing the album. "Something About You" may be my favorite song on Under Control, but the beautiful arrangement on "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" justifies its placement as the last song.

The bottom line here is that Cary Brothers has released a record that, if anything is right in this world, will explode and be heard by everyone. Under Control is catchy enough to be accessible by the masses, yet shows enough heart and talent to satisfy the harshest of critics. Brothers' brand of indie rock has spawned songs that have been swallowed up by the media, and this record offers a few more numbers that have some radio potential. At the same time, the record offers a refreshing listen into a truly talented work of art in a world overrun by overtly shitty music. And although I discussed specific songs in my review, it should be made clear that there really are no bad songs on Under Control. If you buy one record for the rest of 2010, let it be this one, because Cary Brothers is too good to be limited by low record sales or poor concert turnouts. An album this good would have people flocking to his shows and lining up to buy it in my dream world, but instead we have nightmares like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J96ujGstSUw). So don't download this album, go out and buy it. You won't look back.

music, Dashboard Confessional, indie rock, supporting the little good music left out there
you're not getting a DTF (lol, right?) section for this album, go buy it.
1. Ghost Town
2. Under Control
3. Break Off the Bough
4. After the Fall
5. Someday
6. Belong
7. Over and Out
8. Alien
9. Something About You
10. Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Produced By: Bill Lefler, Run Time: 42 minutes
Stream: Here (http://absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=4159)
Buy: Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Under-Control-Cary-Brothers/dp/B0039OC0QQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1271052546&sr=8-1)

[allisterkid]

I'm about to give this my first listen... or maybe tomorrow morning.

[Romancebled]

this album is amazing.

[lightcollapse]

Nothing interesting about this release.

[Thomas Nassiff]

Nothing interesting about this release.
Nothing interested about an album that will be in the top 5 of the year.

[tossit]

I guess I have to listen to it then

[lightcollapse]

Nothing interested about an album that will be in the top 5 of the year.
If you're really into songs that were in the background of Grey's Anatomy circa 2005, then agreed. If you're into anything remotely challenging, then the crystal clean production alone kills this album.

[Thomas Nassiff]

If you're really into songs that were in the background of Grey's Anatomy circa 2005, then agreed. If you're into anything remotely challenging, then the crystal clean production alone kills this album.
He did have songs that appeared on TV shows. They were on his previous release (came out in 2007 FYI). I don't understand what you mean by challenging, and I never knew that good production was such a terrible thing!

[introduction]

I love this album. I will forever remember that wonderful morning I first heard it, full of Cary Brothers and TBS...

[E. Clectic]

Going into this album I never really cared for Brothers. I just never saw anything special about him.

But this album has made a believer out of me, considering some of the hype I've heard about him in the past on this site.

[Thomas Nassiff]

Going into this album I never really cared for Brothers. I just never saw anything special about him.

But this album has made a believer out of me, considering some of the hype I've heard about him in the past on this site.
I never heard that much of his old record but I'm going to listen to it fully now, this record is so good.

[E. Clectic]

I never heard that much of his old record but I'm going to listen to it fully now, this record is so good.
To me his old stuff was pretty generic sounding, it was definitely "soundtrack bait."

This album is amazing, I can't remember anyone surpassing the hype built up around them like this before.
AOTY.

[Thomas Nassiff]

To me his old stuff was pretty generic sounding, it was definitely "soundtrack bait."

This album is amazing, I can't remember anyone surpassing the hype built up around them like this before.
AOTY.
Titus Andronicus' The Monitor is my AOTY so far. After that is The Upsides then this.

[E. Clectic]

Titus Andronicus' The Monitor is my AOTY so far. After that is The Upsides then this.
I agree on Titus Adronicus ("The Airing of Grievances" is one of my favorite albums ever), but I think "The Upsides" suffered from the songs blending together too much, but in the genre, it's pretty common.

[Thomas Nassiff]

I agree on Titus Adronicus ("The Airing of Grievances" is one of my favorite albums ever), but I think "The Upsides" suffered from the songs blending together too much, but in the genre, it's pretty common.
Well it's a concept album so that's bound to happen. It's the best pop-punk record since Sticks and Stones, in my opinion.

[Shakriel]

Good review. Really love this album.

[danherm10]

Hey Thomas, nice review man! I'm really digging this album and also think it's on my top 5 of best releases this year so far.

[Ryan Gardner]

Great review, this album is fantastic.

[Gregory Robson]

This is good, but not 93% good. To each their own. Just glad he's getting some love on here.

[Meeze]

everything was going well until I clicked that link. X-)

[xapplexpiex]

Awesome, I love the Dashboard comparsions. I might give him a listen. Also, I loved "he is a person, not a band of brothers with the same last name...I know, me too." Thanks for clarifying hahahah.

[Gregory Robson]

Awesome, I love the Dashboard comparsions. I might give him a listen. Also, I loved "he is a person, not a band of brothers with the same last name...I know, me too." Thanks for clarifying hahahah.
Not to be a jackass, but he sounds nothing like Dashboard to me. I mean not even close. As strange a comparison as I have ever heard.

[InBetweenAisles]

Really digging this cd.

[Jason Tate]

If you're really into songs that were in the background of Grey's Anatomy circa 2005, then agreed. If you're into anything remotely challenging, then the crystal clean production alone kills this album.
Uh ... you can't have a challenging album and crystal clean production? Are you kidding me?

[Gregory Robson]

Uh ... you can't have a challenging album and crystal clean production? Are you kidding me?
Amen.

[ren]

Not to be a jackass, but he sounds nothing like Dashboard to me. I mean not even close. As strange a comparison as I have ever heard.
I'd agree. That tends to happen a lot across the singer/songwriter fellows though. A lot of people will get compared to another singer/songwriter they sound nothing like. I can understand the comparison because of the expanse of the genre.

[ren]

Uh ... you can't have a challenging album and crystal clean production? Are you kidding me?
This. I don't understand the argument of something is "too clean" especially for an artist like Cary Brothers. Maybe if a Slayer album came out sounding super super polished...

[Jason Tate]

If you like Cary ... I also recommend checking out Joshua Radin and Scheyler Fisk.

Have that great Hotel Cafe sound going on.

[narcoleptic953]

Love this album. Alien is far from the best track though.

[Jason Tate]

This. I don't understand the argument of something is "too clean" especially for an artist like Cary Brothers. Maybe if a Slayer album came out sounding super super polished...
Seriously ... I mean, Nigel Godrich has some very "clean" sounding work. And produces some fantastically "challenging" albums. Just makes no sense to make that argument.

[Gregory Robson]

If you like Cary ... I also recommend checking out Joshua Radin and Scheyler Fisk.

Have that great Hotel Cafe sound going on.
That's the kind of thing he should be compared to. Quick edit Jason, it's Schuyler. Not Scheyler.

[narcoleptic953]

If you're really into songs that were in the background of Grey's Anatomy circa 2005, then agreed. If you're into anything remotely challenging, then the crystal clean production alone kills this album.
Good post, buddy.

[Jason Tate]

That's the kind of thing he should be compared to. Quick edit Jason, it's Schuyler. Not Scheyler.

My bad. Airport typing.

[inthemidst]

Great review. I still need to purchase this. I'm surprised Jason didn't review it, but I'm glad you did Tom. I loved Who You Are, so based on your review, this should be just as great, if not better.

[Gloryneverfades]

I love this album

[brenByah]

If you're really into songs that were in the background of Grey's Anatomy circa 2005, then agreed. If you're into anything remotely challenging, then the crystal clean production alone kills this album.

The fact that his songs were on a popular television show is really irrelevant and says nothing about him as a songwriter, and since when is good production a bad thing?

[HometownHero]

Hasn't been something that has stuck with me. Listened here and thought I liked it
I bought it on Amazon and haven't listened to it since the day I bought it. It's good but to me more like 70 percent good. Good review

[Thomas Nassiff]

This is good, but not 93% good. To each their own. Just glad he's getting some love on here.
It really floored me. I feel like this is one of the ones that in a few months, I'll still think that this grade is justified, but by the end of the year, I'll feel like I should have made it a few points lower.
Not to be a jackass, but he sounds nothing like Dashboard to me. I mean not even close. As strange a comparison as I have ever heard.
If you like Cary ... I also recommend checking out Joshua Radin and Scheyler Fisk.

Have that great Hotel Cafe sound going on.
I figured people would be surprised by that. I put Dashboard in the RIYL because I think that people who like Dashboard would like this, and because Dashboard is more commonly known than Radin. Radin was my initial thought, but after looking around at other reviews and Jason's review of Who You Are, it seemed to be an all-too-common comparison so I thought it might be lazy journalism to just put Radin. Kind of like just comparing Gaslight to Springsteen and calling it a day. :shrug:

[luvsickcatalyst]

Nothing interesting about this release.
I'm sorry, but as of now, I agree with this. This album's way too relaxed and, frankly, boring at times (this is coming from a huge fan of Who You Are) I preferred his more upbeat songs like "The Last One" and "Who You Are". With Under Control, everything is slower and much more chill, which is good for a couple songs, but not an entire record.

[Thomas Nassiff]

I'm sorry, but as of now, I agree with this. This album's way too relaxed and, frankly, boring at times (this is coming from a huge fan of Who You Are) I preferred his more upbeat songs like "The Last One" and "Who You Are". With Under Control, everything is slower and much more chill, which is good for a couple songs, but not an entire record.
You can have a slow-tempo record. I think you have to really get into it to appreciate it though, so if you don't have the span for it then I can see why it could be boring to some people. I got into it immediately.

[luvsickcatalyst]

You can have a slow-tempo record. I think you have to really get into it to appreciate it though, so if you don't have the span for it then I can see why it could be boring to some people. I got into it immediately.
Yeah, I immediately fell for "Someday", but that and "Ghost Town" were the first two songs I listened to off the record. Every song started feeling repetitive after that. I'm definitely gonna try listening again, but I still will stand by Who You Are being a better record.

[Clark]

How much better is it than Who You Are?

[Thomas Nassiff]

How much better is it than Who You Are?
At least one bag of chips.

[DandonTRJ]

He did have songs that appeared on TV shows. They were on his previous release (came out in 2007 FYI). I don't understand what you mean by challenging, and I never knew that good production was such a terrible thing!
Whenever I make a sandwich, I always remember to add some broken glass and rusty nails to the spread. Otherwise it's just not challenging enough, and who would enjoy it then?

[DanielJames]

Bought this record through amazon and have been listening to it every day since I bought it. Such a fantastic, beautiful record. "Ghost Town" is one of my favorites songs to come out in a long time.

[Gregory Robson]

At least one bag of chips.
At least five bags of chips.

[providence36]

I likey

[Thomas Nassiff]

Whenever I make a sandwich, I always remember to add some broken glass and rusty nails to the spread. Otherwise it's just not challenging enough, and who would enjoy it then?
Hahahaha, oh man that actually made me laugh.

[Thomas Nassiff]

At least five bags of chips.
Maybe an Arizona tall can too.

[narcoleptic953]

I'm sorry, but as of now, I agree with this. This album's way too relaxed and, frankly, boring at times (this is coming from a huge fan of Who You Are) I preferred his more upbeat songs like "The Last One" and "Who You Are". With Under Control, everything is slower and much more chill, which is good for a couple songs, but not an entire record.

While this album is slightly more chilled out than Who You Are, I really don't think it's much of a difference. The Last One was my favorite song off Who You Are, but it never struck me exactly as something I'd call "upbeat". I think Someday has a very similar construction, and definitely feels more upbeat to me (though that's partially because of the lyrics vs those of The Last One). While I think Who You Are was a stronger record (slightly) with stronger songs overall, I think this record is brilliant as well and has some real gems.

[Gregory Robson]

Maybe an Arizona tall can too.
I used to work for Arizona Beverages. Mad props.

[drago_breath]

Wasn't a huge fan. Then Ghost Town was posted on myspace, then i listened to the full album and everything changed

[Clark]

At least one bag of chips.
At least five bags of chips.
Maybe an Arizona tall can too.

Alright, I'll check it out. I was disappointed by Who You Are, but hopefully I will be able to get into this one.

[Thomas Nassiff]

I used to work for Arizona Beverages. Mad props.
Oh no way. I dig the green tea and the Arnold Palmer the most. But the stress and power teas are good stuff too.

[Illuminate]

Great review but didn't mention anything about Belong which is my favorite track off the record, also you should note that something about you (your favorite track) is also a cover, otherwise fantastic review and I'm glad it's getting the press it deserves on this site!

[low_rising]

awesome review i just cant get enough of this album

[Moritz421]

Maybe I just need some time with it but as of right now nothing is really striking me like Who You Are did.

[Gregory Robson]

Oh no way. I dig the green tea and the Arnold Palmer the most. But the stress and power teas are good stuff too.
Who doesn't love the Arnold Palmer? Seriously that stuff is golden.

[Thomas Nassiff]

Who doesn't love the Arnold Palmer? Seriously that stuff is golden.
The fact that you used the word "golden" to describe that is very strange. I almost never use that word but constantly refer to Arizona products as pure gold.

So strange, the world.

[xapplexpiex]

Not to be a jackass, but he sounds nothing like Dashboard to me. I mean not even close. As strange a comparison as I have ever heard.
Ah okay. I haven't even heard him yet. I'm just stating what I read in the review.

[Shatter_Glass]

FIRST PARAGRAPH IT WRITTEN GREAT MAN!!! Love this album.

[derekrvr]

If I were to get into this buy's stuff, should I start here or with his 2007 release?

[Thomas Nassiff]

If I were to get into this buy's stuff, should I start here or with his 2007 release?
I'd say this.

[derekrvr]

I'd say this.
Thanks. They had it for $5 on amazon, last time I checked. I'll definently take a listen.