Carloways-to-go for debut album
Long-awaited CD finally coming out
A brand new album is coming out on February 5 from Perth Americana band The Carloways.
Their long-awaited debut album will bring American and Scottish styles together with plenty of banjo and harmonica.
The Carloways formed in high school, a group of childhood friends with a slant towards Americana.
Now they are set to release an album that is the culmination of years of countless shows across the gig and festival scene of Scotland.
The album, entitled ‘Resuscitator’ was recorded at Glasgow’s 45 A-Side Recordings with renowned producer Paul McInally.
An album about the ups and downs of youth, romance and conflicting morals, this is an honest collection of vulnerable songs that lie somewhere between ‘feelgood’ and understated melancholy.
Written by frontman Mikey Maclennan, the record is driven by harmonica, soaring pedal steel, banjo, jangly guitars and rich harmonies.
The band’s bassist Steve Liddle explained how the album came about : “We began working on our debut album at the end of 2018 and it took us about a year to record.
“After postponing the initial launch last year, we are finally releasing it into the world this year for all to hear.
“Our initial launch party was supposed to be held in April 2020 at the Birnam Arts Centre but for obvious reasons, was cancelled.
“It has been postponed for the moment but who knows when things will get back to some form of normality.
“However, that has given us a little longer to master the tracks and work on album artwork.
“We have decided to release it on February 5 and celebrate its release through the internet. Hopefully everyone can get on board and join us in celebration.”
Steve went on to explain how the band had a positive outlook to riding out the pandemic: “Isolation has been tough on us all but for me personally it has given me time to practice most days (between work) and be creative through video.
“The pandemic has not been kind to the arts but I believe it is important for the public to support artists as much as they can, be it through buying merchandise or watching a band perform an online ‘Facebook live gig’.
“The Carloways will strive to provide people with entertainment in 2021 even if it is via the internet.
“Although 2020 was a quiet year, we did have a fantastic showcase on February 1, 2020 at Old Hairdressers, Glasgow. It was set up to be a stellar year for us with festivals in the pipeline and the release of the debut album.”
Taking influence from both sides of the Atlantic, ‘Resuscitator’ is a Celtic Americana record, described as “American-style songs from a Scottish perspective”.
The final single ‘December’, was released on December 18, 2020.
Heron Valley singer, Abigail Pryde was in recording some fiddle parts for the single and was persuaded to do some backing vocals at the chorus.
“We loved how she sounded so much,” said Mikey, “We got her to sing most of the song.”