S. Carey - Hundred Acres
At its heart, Hundred Acres - the third full-length album from Wisconsin singer/songwriter S. Carey - finds him grounded comfortably in his skin, but still with one foot in the stream. More direct than ever, there is a wellspring of confidence in this new batch of songs that lays bare the intricacies of life while keeping its ideas uncomplicated.
Trained in jazz, Carey’s astute musicianship has never been in question nor taken for granted, and the execution of Hundred Acres’ new ideas is seamless. He intentionally unburdened himself from a more complicated instrumentation palate for these ten songs, and, in effect, this modification to his approach brings the content of the work much closer to a living reality. By giving equal status to the indifference of nature and the concerns of a material world - while employing more pop-oriented structures instead of the Steve Reich- or Talk Talk-ian repetitions of his past work - a new balance is struck that creates something unique.
The album is a poetic treatise on what is truly necessary in life, a surprisingly utilitarian art project that underscores the power of enduring. The simplification of songwriting didn’t arrive out of thin air; it came from the similar desire to reach for the utopia of simplicity, for daily life to be unburdened of anxiety and tethered by love. It is a way to say that returning to a more simple life, if even just a little, can heal wounds and mend the cracks.
Written over the course of a few years, in between touring schedules and the growth of his family, Carey recorded, mixed and produced Hundred Acres at home and in various studios in rural Wisconsin with support from his longtime collaborators Zach Hanson, Ben Lester, and Jeremy Boettcher, as well as new contributions from Rob Moose (yMusic), Casey Foubert (Sufjan Stevens) and Sophie Payten (Gordi).
TRACK LISTING
1. Rose Petals
2. Hideout
3. Yellowstone
4. True North
5. Emery
6. Hundred Acres
7. More I See
8. Fool’s Gold
9. Have You Stopped To Notice
10. Meadow Song
PRODUCT DETAILS
Artist: S. Carey
Label: Jagjaguwar
Condition: New
Genre: Indie & Alternative
Format: Vinyl LP
Cat Number: JAG311LP
Released: 23 February 2018