On The Verge

Carlon

Fairfield, N.J.
Avant-Americana
www.carlonmusic.com

When Carlon recorded Johari Window in an empty, 20,000 square foot warehouse, drummer Milo Venter was heavily immersed in the film scores of Danny Elfman. So it is no surprise that the New Jersey-based Americana rock band managed to capture a relaxed, reverb-drenched, slightly avant-garde Americana sound like My Morning Jacket’ The Tennessee Fire. “You could fly a kite in the room,” bassist Jared Pollack says of the sessions, which were recently released through Ropeadope Digital. “You could place a microphone at the opposite end and have natural reverb and delay.” The album came alive through the support of people like executive producer—and Dispatch co-founder—Pete Francis and producer Ross Petersen (Bruce Springsteen, MUSE, John Mayer). “Everyone tried new instruments,” rhythm guitarist and vocalist Mike McWilliams explains. “Just because you’ve never received proper training doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to play it on a record.”