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Now by Daniel Carlson
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fave it Folky Pop | Delicate
5 tracks | 19 minutes
Released Sep 2004
on AptZero Recordings
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for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:17 Listen lyrics BUY MP3 02:17 Listen lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:17 Listen
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:44 Tina lyrics FREE 03:44 Tina lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:44 Tina
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:48 My Old Room lyrics BUY MP3 03:48 My Old Room lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:48 My Old Room
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 01:29 Gold lyrics BUY MP3 01:29 Gold lyrics "GIFT MP3" 01:29 Gold
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 08:01 I Want To You Know lyrics BUY MP3 08:01 I Want To You Know lyrics "GIFT MP3" 08:01 I Want To You Know
Cinematic pop for grown-ups.
Editorial review
Although his debut is an EP that's only five songs and less than 20 minutes long, Daniel Carlson brings a unique lifetime of experience into his supremely mellow retro-pop dreamscape -- which clearly draws on the influences of everyone from Brian Wilson and Belle & Sebastian to Elliott Smith. The Chicago native was part of the Josh Clayton-Felt experience in the early days, then played with N.Y.C. bands like Giant Mums and Strange Attractor before getting discouraged by the business. But the musical muse didn't stay down for long, as Carlson -- who plays guitar, piano, bass, Wurlitzer, and organ -- achieves what he believes is "the record I've wanted to make since I was 15 years old." From the gently symphonic "Listen" to the lushly harmonic contemplation of "My Old Room," it's trippy stuff all around, with soothing ambience swirling around a pop-folk sensibility. The similarly thoughtful, piano-driven "Tina" is something of a throwback to the soothing sound John Lennon was after on "Across the Universe." "Gold" is a too-short Eastern-tinged new agey instrumental that perfectly captures the EP's overall cool vibe. Carlson seems to have spent a lot on the CD insert design for such a short little project, with photos from urban life that capture unique moments in time. Hopefully, he'll explain the source of the esoteric package on future, more fully developed projects. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
Daniel Carlson has every right to be proud of his new EP, Now. It's a thoroughly engulfing listening experience, as the lush layers of instrumentation do their best to surround you and not let you get away. It's pop perfection that meanders along a musical landscape not unlike that of artists such as Brian Wilson, Belle and Sebastian, and Elliot Smith, while simultaneously maintaining a voice all its own.
Carlson spent the better part of a year traveling between his home in New York City and producer Neal Ostrovsky's b-Side studio in Chicago, the pair slowly articulating what would become Now. "There were times when I didn't think we'd finish it", remembers Carlson. Friends in Chicago came in and played, but Carlson's East Coast friends helped, too. "We recorded the violins in my apartment, a french horn player in her kitchen outside of Boston, in the middle of a raging snow storm".
Call it what you will - an EP, side one of a vinyl album, whatever. It's all about Now.