Black Vinyl
Every Time I Feel Afraid, their debut album for Brassland. It’s a project that reckons with the realities and hardships of a life spent running down a dream; a cosmic swirl of heartland hallucinations, motorik Americana, and plainspoken poeticism in the vein of Tom Petty or Amen Dunes; the sound of a dreamer faced with a put-up or shut-up moment, and delivering.
Every Time I Feel Afraid, their debut album for Brassland. It’s a project that reckons with the realities and hardships of a life spent running down a dream; a cosmic swirl of heartland hallucinations, motorik Americana, and plainspoken poeticism in the vein of Tom Petty or Amen Dunes; the sound of a dreamer faced with a put-up or shut-up moment, and delivering.
Carriers also have shared "Blurry Eyes," a new single that follows last month's "Sometimes." Featuring contributions from Bryan Devendorf (The National), Dave Hartley (The War On Drugs) and Ben Lanz (Beirut, The National, Sufjan Stevens), it's a song about mustering the belief to overcome doubt, hesitation, and uncertainty. Kiser's gentle, Neil Young-adjacent vocal is cast against swelling brass and a gorgeous landscape of bleeding sonic colors.
Speaking about announcing the LP Curt says: "Right now is a weird time to be putting out music and promoting myself, but I'm grateful to share art during such a heavy time. I hope the songs find people when they need it most, and that they can provide some kind of solace — whether an escape from the situation, some magic in the atmosphere, or maybe a lyric to help them process what's going on."
The album’s title — pulled from the track of the track of the same name — is a rallying of internal resources to emerge from tough times with resilience. “It's a kind of mantra I used to get through a really hard week,” Kiser explains. “While driving, my partner and I were hit by a drunk driver, then assaulted by the guy who hit us. A few days later my van got robbed in Chicago while I was on a short run of shows between Ohio and Illinois. We borrowed some gear, got through the gig, and I returned home. My laptop was one of the things stolen, so I knocked out the song on an old Fostex multi-track borrowed from a friend."
That kind of optimism and bounce-back spirit exemplifies Kiser, who has become something of an Ohio talisman. "I have a beautiful, symbiotic relationship with Cincinnati,” he says. Some of Cincy’s most enduring civic entities agree.
Love for Carriers extends well beyond Cincinnati city limits. Carriers has opened up for the likes of Big Thief and Damien Jurado and, in summer 2024, nabbed opening slots on tours with Band Of Horses and Fruit Bats. Sharon Van Etten even listed Carriers in the “Recommended Listening” section of the liner notes for her 2019 LP Remind Me Tomorrow.
It’s the result of Kiser’s dedicated songwriting practice. As he explains. “When I was 19 years old, I looked to the heaven’s and asked what I should do with my life. I grabbed the old 1950s Goya guitar which was passed down to me from my great Uncle Andy, sat on my porch in Cinci’s Camp Washington neighborhood and proceeded to write one of the first songs I’d ever written on my own. From that point on, I’ve never stopped writing. It’s my therapy.”
With Every Time I Feel Afraid, Kiser takes heed of all of the little signs the universe has sent his way and commits to his destiny as a songwriter. “It’s who I am and what I’m good at,” he says. “It’s taken a few hundred songs to feel confident in it, but I’m there now. I’ve accepted it as my life’s work no matter how successful I’m perceived to be in the world outside my home.”
Featuring contributions from Bryan Devendorf (The National), Dave Hartley (The War On Drugs) and Ben Lanz (Beirut, The National, Sufjan Stevens),
Mixed Chad Wahlbrink, Peter Katis & Dave Nelson
Label: Brassland
Condition: New