Darci Carlson Impresses with Debut “Release Me” EP
Totally unfair Darci Carlson—girls this hot aren’t supposed to be this talented, or be off into throwback country that only the lost souls and forgotten rejects of society still listen to. And none of this should be emanating from the Pacific Northwest. You know, because what the hell do they know about country music up there?
…Apparently, they know more than many of the cretins on Music Row.
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I first heard of Darci Carlson when she was nominated for one of Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Awards in the Outlaw Female category, but her musical roots trace farther back. Carlson started a songwriting duo in 2010 called The Dolly Rottens that eventually morphed into a full blown punk rock band. Then she started working with Jamie Chamberlin of of Black Dahlia Films who cast her in various music video projects in the Pacific Northwest, eventually leading to an introduction to Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and Darci being booked on the band’s 2012 Gang of Outlaws tour.
The experience inspired Darci to take her own music more seriously, and when she arrived back home she began to play with some of the notables of underground country who call the greater Seattle area home, including Billy Cook of the now defunct .357 String Band, and former bassist for Bob Wayne’s Outlaw Carnies, Dan Infecto. Next thing you know she making an EP with Billy, Dan, others from around the Seattle scene, and Andy Gibson of Hank3 fame.
Written solely by Carlson, the 5-song Release Me EP is a throwback, honky-tonkin, foot-stompin’ true country affair that lays full throttle on the twang and layers in the steel guitar hard and heavy. But this isn’t just all about styling and posturing to prove how country it is. Darci crafts some really smart songs and has an understanding of chords and arrangement and songwriting that separates her from the crowd of throwback country garage bands that can’t do much better than ape the style of others. Though it’s interpretive of classic honky tonk, Carlson adds a strong shot of her own personality to the mixture to make the end result something true to herself and original to the landscape.
Carlson is rough-hewn and aggressive, but not tasteless or tacky. She knows where the line is, walks right up to it, dangles her toe just over it, but never crosses. This is not punk country, this is honky tonk. Meanwhile her voice is honey sweet at times, but carries this smoky, raspy quality that punctuates the experience like a desirable aftertaste of a fine spirit.
My wish would be that these recordings came with a bit more clarity. It has that homespun aspect where the tracks feel filmy and could use a little separation in the signals. Even though these songs are well-written, sometimes you can’t understand all the words. But hey, this is a debut EP, and it’s supposed to be a starting point and a fair representation of the music, and Release Me is certainly that. This is about Darci Carlson’s voice, songs, and style illustrated, and the boys in Seattle do an excellent job interpreting her style.
Something else great about this EP is that you get an earful of guitar/steel player Andy Gibson. Whether its those Hank3 records where he seems to always play a secondary role to the excellent, but overused Johnny Hiland, or he’s in the control booth of a recording session in his renegade Nashville studio instead of playing himself, Andy Gibson fans always are left feeling a little wanting of more of him. Here we finally get it, and primarily on the pedal steel as opposed to the stand up rig and dobro. The addition of Andy Gibson really makes this record.
Darci Carlson’s Release Me EP is packed with entertainment, and like a debut EP is supposed to do, it gets you salivating for what’s to come. The underground roots community is chock full of talent, and it’s encouraging to see another new face to help carry that talent to an audience beyond the region.
1 1/2 of 2 Guns Up.
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June 7, 2015 @ 5:33 pm
Holy hell, I’ve never heard of her before, but I will be getting this. WOW she sounds like Melissa Etheridge gone country, and I love Mel. It looks like I’ll be adding more even women to my music collection (suck THAT, Keith Hill…)
June 7, 2015 @ 5:43 pm
‘The addition of Andy Gibson really makes this record.’Yup ..I hear that , Trigger .
This is some solid road ‘n club-ready country …terrific , honest vocals sung ( and not OVER-sung) with conviction , character and an understanding of the genre . Some refreshing trad country grooves and very interesting chord changes- not song after song of four chord half-time pseudo-southern rock ‘n rap rhythms like most mainstream fare . Sounds like a REAL band ….not a layered over-compressed wall of white noise …again – like much mainstream ” country” music . Only nit I’d have is that the overall quality of the mix is on the thin side . Fatten this mix up a little bit and I think you’ve got as good a country record as I’ve heard this year .And how ’bout some love for that guitar player keepin it country . ” We don’t need no steenkeen humbuckers and Marshall stacks”.
June 7, 2015 @ 6:47 pm
Love that steel guitar!
June 7, 2015 @ 6:47 pm
“Girls this hot aren’t supposed to be this talented”. Why not?
June 7, 2015 @ 6:59 pm
For the same reason you can’t make good country music in the Pacific Northwest.
It was sarcasm meant to chip away at stereotypes.
June 8, 2015 @ 10:22 am
I’m gonna sit on you Mr. Trigger
June 8, 2015 @ 11:39 am
Got it, Trigger. I was just messin’ with ya. 🙂
June 7, 2015 @ 7:11 pm
To me, she sounds like if Brody Dalle from The Distillers gave up the punk rock, and went country.
Good stuff, she definitely gained a fan in me.
June 9, 2015 @ 5:59 am
Whoa, she really does sound just like Brody Dalle. Brody did give up punk rock though. Have you heard her band Spinerette or her solo album? Very different from her work with the Distillers, but I like still like it.
June 7, 2015 @ 7:29 pm
Hints of another blonde bombshell. When Heidi Newfield reserves her tone it’s pure beauty.
Speaking of, there was chatter earlier in the year on the Trick Pony front. Hear anything?
June 7, 2015 @ 7:32 pm
The attitude reminds me of Jason & the Scorchers. Feels like someone who wants to get in to the real game on her own terms, hungry.
June 7, 2015 @ 8:26 pm
Reminds of another honky Tonkin blonde – danni Leigh. Whatever happened to her?
June 8, 2015 @ 5:09 am
Heroin
June 8, 2015 @ 7:44 pm
Yikes. That’s a shame.
June 7, 2015 @ 9:02 pm
Yeah, she’s real good and real purty, but I gotta get off topic for a minute. I got to thinkin’ ’bout Mo Pitney’s song “Country,” so I looked him up, and sure enough, Trigger wrote about him. I missed that one. I know I’m WAY too late, and that article was so long ago, so I’m gonna comment on here and be so off topic y’all will get on to me:
I can’t believe Trigger and everybody else didn’t pick up on what is going on with that song; “Country” is an anti pop country song. Let me elaborate: It had nothing to do with listing off countryisms as y’all complained about. The way pop country describes what country is and how Mo describes it are polar opposites. Pop country says it’s all about redneck stuff. Mo says “Country ain’t even a place on the map, it’s a place in your heart.” Totally different than pop country. Oh, but there’s more. He says “Would you drive across the country just to listen to some country?” It’s not what it sounds like. He is implying that what you hear on the radio isn’t country, and you have to drive across the country if you want to hear country. See what I’m saying? Mo Pitney’s “Country” is taking a jab at Music Row. Seriously, I can’t believe nobody picked up on this, even Trigger. Y’all gotta read between the lines.
June 7, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
I think that’s up to interpretation. I definitely see your point that it could be a veiled protest song, but I think it could also not be. As sign of good songwriting is when a song means different things to different people, or even different things in different frames of mind. So regardless of what it is truly about, if that is what it is about to you, then that’s all that matters.
June 7, 2015 @ 9:37 pm
Could just be wishful thinking on my part. If it’s a protest song that’s actually getting played on the radio, that’s almost too good to be true, and Nashville is notorious for getting traditional leaning artists to release protest songs just to stir up and benefit from anti pop country just like pop country itself. They like to play both sides, a la Maddie and Tae.
But anyway, I like this Darci Carlson girl. Nice raspy but pretty voice. Steel guitar was great. That’s some authentic honky tonk music. I like that here’s a girl who sings songs with attitude that aren’t revenge fantasy songs. She’s purty too!
June 7, 2015 @ 11:41 pm
Hell yeah here is another tomato that is not a tomato but the whole salad dressing and all. Damn! Kind of like Heather Myles but with that Jessi Coulter outlaw streak. Wow!
June 8, 2015 @ 5:04 am
Well, damn, Trigger. This is what I’ve been looking for in a female artist. I love the unapologetic Country Music, and I dig the fact that her voice actually has some texture and character to it. There are plenty of females out there making music that sing well enough, but their voices lack a distinctive quality that separates them from the pack. They sound…pretty. Nothing wrong with a technically skilled singer, at all. It can just become…boring, after a while. Not this chick. I dig it, and I’m only :45 into the first track. I’ll definitely be picking this one up! Thanks again for another great find!
June 8, 2015 @ 8:43 am
The vocals are a bit buried, but nothing a quick remix and a few extra bucks on a better master wouldn’t fix. Still better than a Dave Cobb ‘effort’.
June 8, 2015 @ 2:30 pm
Quite Good. Her hotness is a nice bonus.
Trigger have you heard Jason Aldean’s recent comment about Bro Country?
June 8, 2015 @ 2:36 pm
I saw some comments about a week ago where he said he thought it was demeaning.
June 8, 2015 @ 5:59 pm
I wish you’d learn how to respectfully write/talk about women…just about anytime you’re talking about women whos music you’re promoting, one of the first descriptors you’ll use is to elaborate on how they look. That will never help women out of the hole they’ve been tossed into in the music industry! Their physical attributes have absolutely nothing to do with the substance of the music they make. No one is going to take women seriously if every time they’re written about, the first line has something to do with how they look. Way to be no different from Keith Hill.
June 8, 2015 @ 6:58 pm
That’s okay Jim, some aren’t as fast on the uptick when it comes to sarcasm, even when it’s pretty obvious.
You’re that guy that thinks I’m Jack Williams too, right?
June 8, 2015 @ 8:33 pm
U r not?
June 8, 2015 @ 10:16 pm
But she is totally hot though, right?? I didn’t see you disagree with trigger…
June 8, 2015 @ 10:09 pm
First off, I like these songs. A lot. Just wanted to throw that out there first.
What’s with the accent? I can only assume it’s fake, given she’s from the Pacific Northwest. I just don’t get the fake southern accents. I’m calling B.S. on that part.
Granted, I’m from mid-MO where half the people sound like that and half the people don’t. My southern accent only comes out when I’m drinking or singing along to country songs. So I’m open to this being a weird thing about country songs, it’s still just kinda weird.
J.P. Harris is from like Vermont or something and his music’s freaking awesome! My argument’s not that country can’t come from anywhere, just that the accent does not come from just anywhere.
Again, I like these songs. The accent just felt fake in some of those songs. If the accent feeling fake is my biggest complaint, this is probably some of the best new country music in a while!
June 9, 2015 @ 7:24 pm
you should hear me when I’m drunk haha! 😉 thanks for the compliment, even if my white trash comes on a lill hot. Ya’ll rock for listening to my music and appreciating it. Thanks a million xoxox
June 9, 2015 @ 6:18 am
Man, this is the first new artist I’ve heard in a while that’s really grabbed me. Definitely looking for a full length album soon, especially if she can get Andy Gibson again.
June 9, 2015 @ 10:19 am
I for one don’t care what she looks like. However if she wants to be taken seriously in the underground, she might want to rethink the boobs bulging through a tight t-shirt persona.
June 9, 2015 @ 3:24 pm
Why? Is the underground so shallow that it cares more about physical appearance than music?
June 9, 2015 @ 4:34 pm
The underground is not shallow. Thats the point.
June 10, 2015 @ 6:03 pm
Yes, u would probably look hot/good in a garage bag. Something to think about.
June 9, 2015 @ 7:33 pm
Sorry Sonas there were no garbage bags handy at this photo shoot 😉
June 10, 2015 @ 3:45 pm
I’m very pleased that Darci’s strong songwriting ability was described in such detail – it’s true, she is a fantastic songwriter and commands the stage, owns it, and leaves the live listeners with an experience.
As far as her having an accent, I’ve never noticed her having an accent – though musical accents aren’t related to geography either, so I’ve never wondered why Michael Hutchence from INXS sounds so American rather than Australian – not even once.
I’m proud to have recorded some backup vocals on this record. It’s a great record, and Darci is hot – it’s true, but once you see her in action – Darci is a badass!
June 10, 2015 @ 6:30 pm
Outstanding Darci…In my book you rate top notch for a new voice in Country and I see a very short road to being recognized for the beautiful, passionate, talented, singer/songwriter that you are! The musicians accompanying, provided great sound and were a fantastic match to your voice, which is stunning. Good tunes and musicians are just that. They provide us with what our soul cries out for, our beloved music. We feel it and YOU provide. Here’s to Darci Carlson, another great musician from the Pacific Northwest!