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Carousel Casualties - Madison EP Review


We often accuse a band of ripping off a sound of another band abroad. The style, the chord progression, the voice, the looks, the packaging; it’s becomes too apparent. A generation defines another -- that means music becomes a permanent marker on the drawing board but these days, those highlighted markers aren’t checked up that often because a generic band can become like a plain temporary Pentel pen. Those bands being listed as the “flavor of the month” will be wiped off, eventually fading into obscurity.

Carousel Casualties is a band that might stand a chance of releasing some noteworthy and fun music this year in their debut EP titled, “Madison.” For a while, this band went through a significant change of lineup, ‘sound’ (from what I’ve heard from their peers), and it’s been a year since they’ve been finding the right time to resurface from the scene finally. I guess it’s appropriate to say that I’m glad that I stumble upon Carousel Casualties on a normal Wednesday night. Seeing this band live before listening to their studio material tells a different story because CC is amazing if you stand right in front of them; their instrumentals compliment each other, the guitar play is crisp, and the overall poppiness of the band is dazzling. In short, they have potential, written all over them.

Two months ago, the band released their much-awaited EP titled “Madison.” Carousel Casualties’ debut EP is somewhat ‘ok’ or rather ‘so-so’ after a few listens, but at the same time they manage to make their charm glow. They have their catchy hooks and stylish guitar licks (ugh, ‘indie-rock’ bands, please for crying out loud write riffs that aren’t Strokes-y or Arctic Monkeys duplicates or atleast try to do something that isn’t heard before or maybe do something creative with the riff you’re writing) in the entirety of the project. Don’t get me wrong, Carousel Casualties are talented individuals, but sadly, this type of music has already been done before. But within this kind of sound, they’re delving into, they're not just talented musicians who can compose challenging guitar or ‘hardcore’ bass arrangements, but they have this ‘fire’ in their music that I can keep for quite some time. The tracks ‘Flats’, ‘Fiasco,' and ‘Safety’ are solid tracks. I didn’t like ‘Leona’ for how they incorporate this lazy song structure and the vocal effect that the lead singer has at the beginning of the track, which was unnecessary in my opinion.

Carousel Casualties were able to create the catchiest songs out there and collect all of it in this 6-track EP just to keep the vibe up and running. Right now, they’re getting there in a way where these dudes can make a substantial, easy listening project if they could minimize the obvious influences sprouted in this project. Their way of combining Brit-Pop influenced instrumentals and old school drum fills makes up for a satisfying listen.

If these guys are planning to make an album soon, I hope this EP acts as their stepping stone to make something remarkably enjoyable from start to finish. This record is decent, it didn’t wow me as it should have, but I’m delighted they finally released their material.

FAVORITE TRACKS: FLATS, FIASCO, SAFETY

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