GIBSON, DAUGHN
CARNATION (SUB POP)
Daughn Gibson of Carlisle, PA is a singer, songwriter and musician possessed of a singular and strange vision.Carnation is the latest exhilarating and dark embodiment of that vision.
It's also his third album. It's an album that's more elegant and sophisticated than anything he's done to date, and which sees the elements of country music, more prominent on his past records (the 2012 release ,All Hell" on the White Denim label and Sub Pop's 2013 release of ,Me Moan"), undone by ambient textures and sounds to extraordinary effect.
Shot through with a deep sensuality, ,Carnation" is a high-wire balancing act, at times sexual, emotionally intense and comforting.
The album features Daughn's strongest songwriting yet, with lyrical subject matter that shares a kinship with writers Raymond Carver and Donald Ray Pollack.
The music here combines with those lyrics to widescreen effect, and ,Carnation" feels filmic in its execution: It evokes, and in many ways pays homage to, the works of Tim Burton, Pier Paulo Pasolini, and John Waters.
,Carnation" was co-produced and recorded by Daughn Gibson and Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Jesse Sykes, Tim Hecker).
Dunn's knack for textured mixes and sense of pagan weight collide with Gibson's underlying pop sensibilities.
The two also enlisted the talents of composer/violinist to Eyvind Kang on string arrangements, renowned studio drummer Matt Chamberlain, as well as Daughn's long-standing musical conspirator, Jim Elkington.
Additional contributions include: Steve Moore (Piano, Trombone, Keyboards and Synths); Milky Burgess, Paul Wegman, and Jer Rouse (Guitars); Skerik (Saxophone); and Jay Kardong (Pedal Steel).
Carnation was recorded at Avast Studios in Seattle, Washington and mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering.