Range of Light
S. Carey creates music that sounds like it\'s wandered off the path of his other gig as the drummer and multi-instrumentalist for Bon Iver. Taking the orchestrated beauty of that entity, Carey ventures deeper into the bucolic scenes that are inspired by his love for American naturalist John Muir, whose description of the Sierra Nevada mountain range inspired the title of Carey’s second solo album. Whereas Carey’s solo debut, *All We Grow*, was largely his own performances, *Range of Light* invites additional voices (including Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon), strings, woodwinds, and horns to color these often piano-based introspective pieces, all recorded in Vernon’s April Base Studios in Fall Creek, Wis. Carey says this music is informed by his love of jazz, modern classical, and Americana, and it’s easy to hear touches of each in these gentle, atmospheric tone poems. The extra percussion guiding “Crown the Pines,” in fact, sounds a bit out of place when heard alongside such understated pieces as “Creaking,” “Fire-Scene,” “Radiant,” and the sublime “Alpenglow.”
S. Carey's work is hugely beatific, restorative panorama or beauty - perfect given how landscape and the wonder of nature inspire much of Carey's imagery. His new album 'Range of Light' takes its title from the name that 19th century naturalist John Muir gave to the Sierra Nevada, and follows suit with a dazzling array of musical light and shade, drawn from Carey's love of jazz, modern classical and Americana. Like a weathered mountain range changing shadow form and color, or the ebb and flow of a river's current, S. Carey's music is simultaneously restful and rhythmic, complex and simple, and always evolving.
Sean Carey's new album is the first he recorded in Bon Iver bandmate Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Fall Creek, Wis. The warmth, reverb, and dusty textures here form something much larger than S. Carey has ever done before, but his real talent lies in making these songs seem tiny set against the world around him.
S. Carey may be best known for his work with Bon Iver, but since the release of the band’s debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, he’s crafted his own singular aesthetic across a handful of solo releases. Carey’s first record, All You Grow, and the follow-up EP, Hoyas, were beautifully layered records that privileged…
Frequent Bon Iver collaborator finds his own voice in splendid style.