- Record Label: Full Time Hobby
- Release Date: Jan 25, 2010
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There's not much more British than slightly freaky folk music. As if to prove the point, Erland Cooper has mined these pleasant pastures for a debut album of depth and weird beauty.
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UncutIt invokes countless familiar sources--The Byrds, Ennio Morricone, The La's, The Doors, Joe Meek--but reassembles them in such an unexpected way that 500-year-old songs sound utterly fresh. [Feb 2010, p.88]
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MojoFormed around Orcadian singer/guitarist Erland Cooper, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong and drummer David Nock, best known for his work with Paul McCartney's The Fireman, Erland and co meld influences to create a psych-folk mosaic. [Feb 2010, p. 101]
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Q MagazineErland And The Carnival is an exquisite update of the classic folk-rock sound of the late '60s, full of dark and lovely covers and originals starring tramps, carnivals, Derby Rams and death. [Feb 2010, p. 105]
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It’s easy to see them as a very promising one act; a band taking familiar styles and crafting them into a memorable, accessible whole, with a strong stream of creativity flowing throughout.
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The results might not always work--the dreary "Disturbed This Morning," for example--but when they do, it is almost always exciting. By no means is this a classic album, but there are plenty of worthwhile moments to be had.