Skope Magazine September 2006
Jordan Carp Releases “The Dark Architecture” & Skope Throws In Our 2 Cents
By Bill Copeland , Posted 8/30/06
“The Dark Architecture” is a masterwork. Each song is actually a mini masterpiece with all sorts of subtle flourishes and fine, tasteful touches. This CD is like a really good jazz album, pleasant at first listen before further listening reveals more neat things to pick out of the soundscape.
On this third CD, Jordan Carp has decided to focus on his voice as the primary instrument. His vocals have been brought forward in the mix, and the music, while intricate, remains in the background, giving the CD a singer-songwriter feel.
Each song finds Carp’s voice in fine form. His singing is full of warmth, richness, and a timbre that can only be heard, not described. On opening track “Simple Pleasures” his strong, flowing voice pulls the song along. Carp’s acoustic guitar strumming and a persistent drum beat is light enough to augment his voice without overwhelming it.
Carp’s voice also dominates a track called “Giant in a Tiny Universe” even though “Giant” has weird, spacey sounds from Carp’s mellotron. “Giant,” though, on further listening, has a rolling bass line that appeals in its persistence.
The rest of the CD follows this blueprint of voice over matter. “Walking At Night,” another mood piece, features a mellow synthesizer creating a faux string section sound. Here, Carp’s focus on his voice allows him to highlight the profoundly sad and beautiful lyrics he has written: “I go walking at night/I’m addicted to the morphine of the moonlight/It’s like a magnet for people who love the hum of its lonely tune.”
“Space Man” has a bit more moog work to create a backdrop for this tune about feeling isolated and stranded in the middle of nowhere. In fact, a synthesizer sets the mood with a drone-like backdrop before Carp takes over with his guitar and vocal.
Carp’s voice eventually turns out to be the icing on the cake. By the fifth song I realized I’ve been underestimating his musical backdrops. There’s more going on with the instruments than what initially met my ears. On my second listening of “Simple Pleasures” I found the breezy but ultimately hooky chorus that I missed out on the first time around. Carp’s music, like his vocal, is doing something and going somewhere, even if it is restrained enough to keep his vocal up front.
When I realized that the powerful presence of Carp’s voice is only half of the texture on this disc, I found it had much more to offer the listener. “Walking At Night” finds Carp’s mellow, mellifluous voice holding its own against pristine guitar and synth melodies. This singer-songwriter has found the perfect balance between a pure vocal and modern electronic instrumentation. He has created some of the most accessible adult contemporary music I’ve heard in the last few years.
“New Orleans” is marked with a mellow acoustic guitar rhythm that dovetails with a sharper electric guitar lead to build a tapestry of gorgeous sound. Likewise, “Lucky” walks slowly and warmly up to the ear with a carefully constructed texture. Each instrument doesn’t seem to be doing a lot on its own. But all of them together create something dense with their minimal individual offerings.
Carp’s ode to a distant lover, “Distant Satellite” relies on firm guitar notes to give his voice that solid backdrop while “Torch” has an interesting drum pattern that combines nicely with Carp’s assertive, alluring chorus.
Carp is a singer-songwriter maestro. He writes like a singer-songwriter for his lyrics and voice, and he is also a composer of wider musical landscapes. “The Dark Architecture” is one of the strongest CDs to come out of the Boston singer-songwriter scene all year.
