ALBUM REVIEW: “All We Grow” S. Carey

All We Grow
S. Carey
[Jagjaguwar]

From the same label that took a chance on Bon Iver and the wildly successful album For Emma, Forever Ago, Jagjaguwar has gotten behind S. Carey. As Bon Iver lead singer Justin Vernon‘s sideman for nearly two years on the road, Carey is giving it a go alone.

While All We Grow was recorded by Carey mostly in his own studio, it seems he took some techniques away from the Bon Iver recording process — though Carey was never a part of recording For Emma. Layers and layers of guitars, pianos, percussion and vocals flood through this album like the first chill that comes in fall.

S. Carey says that this isn’t the end of Bon Iver, just a break for everyone to pursue all their other interests. He’s touring around this fall to support All We Grow, and it should be quite a sight. He plans to keep the band members limited to four, including himself.

While some were hoping for Carey to get a little more upbeat than the single In the Dirt (download here), it seems that his music is just as melancholy as Vernon’s. There are hauntingly beautiful tracks all over the nine-song album, including personal favorites “Mothers” and “Move.”

If you have a hole in your heart because Bon Iver hasn’t released anything in a couple of years, thank God there is S. Carey. All We Grow is just the next step from this collective of musicians that love making sad, simple music. For more on Carey, check out this awesome interview Paste did.