Jack Carty & Luke Thompson
with special guest Mali Mali
Time flies, and increasingly, so does Jack Carty. It may have been four years since his debut EP Wine & Consequence and his unassuming arrival on the Australian music scene, but that's certainly not time misspent. Two full length albums - 2011's One Thousand Origami Birds and 2012's Break Your Own Heart — quickly followed, as did a collaborative EP with Sydney based man-of-mystery Casual Psychotic titled The Predictable Crisis Of Modern Life, showcasing a darker and more experimental side to Carty's writing away from his indie-folk roots. Beyond the record releases, extensive touring nationally and internationally, festivals ensued, songs were added to soundtracks, the critical acclaim piled up and top five accolades in the APRA Professional Development Awards and SXSW and Canadian Music Week showcases and a MusicOz award were effortlessly added to his resume.
Now, following three solid years of travel, tours and no fixed address, Carty has finished a new album, grounded in ideas of process and time while sounding like an artist who knows exactly what he wants.
The first single from the forthcoming album was The Joneses', which was released on June 26th and has received significant radio play across community and national radio. Co-written with friend, tour-buddy and one of Australia's finest Josh Pyke, The Joneses' is a meditation on the melancholy of expectation, disguised as a precocious pop song. After all, all you have to do to be free from expectations is to let go of them, right?
Carty explains: "I wanted this record to be more collaborative from the start, whether that was in the writing of the songs, or the way we approached the recording sessions. Josh invited me to his man-cave (that's a space, not a euphemism) and we wrote The Joneses' in a day. I think you can really hear both of us in there." This is indicative not just through the first single, but throughout the album as a body of work.
Alongside the release of Esk, Carty will be spending the latter part of the year treating listeners to his stunning live show, with an extensive national tour set to be announced in coming months.
