I had this EP all mapped out in my head when I heard former Ten Cent Redemption guitarist Johnny Waggoner was starting his own project. Having heard his work in Three Miles West, Ten Cent, and as a guest player from notables from Angie Stevens to Badpenny I predicted his soaring guitar style, and visits to his heavy nineties influence. would deliver some sort of Silversun Pickups vibe. I thought i could pull out every influence in the projects mix of influences, from riff to verse. From hook to arrangement. I could not have been more wrong.
Carmelita's Lovers "Haunted" is marked by Waggoners guitar style, but his influences are more mature and meld into something less predictable. It is rare an EP shows such diversity. The most notable asset is J.T Nething covering punctuated pop rock and soaring ballads with effortless reach. Most listeners will be struck by the number of directions this band could navigate successfully. Heavy on guitar and progression choice is "Ride You Down", a curious mix of melodies reminiscent of Sixteen Horsepower layered onto traditional stoner rock or heroine rock. Bottom line is it really works. Equally adept at the rowdy trash pop,
"What's Behind the Door?" hooks, moves quickly to chorus and sucks you in. Damn pop songs. But from the same band? Yes, and Yes.
What i arrived at is - this is a band that reflects its founder quite well. Waggoner is known for attacking a song from many style and influence angles to preserve creative input. Now that he has the call on what a song will ultimately look like in its whole, it feels like an album from a band yet to get its feedback from the essential source: its fans and its track sales. Time will dictate what ultimately arises. What is rare here is the band has little to worry about in terms of pulling it off. A blessing and a curse scenario, but an enviable spot by most standards. Whether it was Nethings vocals or some other less evident voice in my head, I kept coming back to what Pearl Jam must have sounded like a year before we all knew who Pearl Jam was.
There are several undeniable moments created by the reuniting of Tony Burke and John Waggoner...the atypical intros to Haunted and Not the One provide tension, buildup, and resolution between bass and guitars before the songs even lift off. It seems there are few limits for these two working together. And Mark Kosta has shown he has the drum skills necessary to put his own signature on their work in the future. It is a nice addition to his more traditional role in New Ben Franklins, a noteworthy project he still calls home.
Word has it there is more material. It's Johnny- There is and always will be good material as solid and diverse as the current offering in a giant notebook in his head. But Carmelita's Lovers is not aiming at good and solid, and have hurdled that in their first effort. Great may just be around the corner.
I love this EP, even after it caught me off guard intially. But the real dose is onstage with this outfit. December 3rd at Three Kings...with even more material and some of his west coast band on stage as well. See you there.
-russ
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