The Carrot Top Records Catalog -
Mail Order Information
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saki041 Antietam Opus Mixtum CD $13
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saki041 Antietam Opus Mixtum LP $20
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-"Did I mention that Tara Key is the best guitarist in the world?"- Village Voice. First album in their 25 year career that combines the ferocity of their calling card stage show, the quiet acoustic moments of TARA KEY's solo recordings, their pristine pop sprawling instrumental ambience. Features guests Rick Rizzo (ELEVENTH DREAM DAY- stunt guitar), Mark Howell (horns), Katie Gentile (RUN ON, SPECIAL PILLOW-violin)
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saki040 The Handsome Family Last Days of Wonder CD $11
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download at Fina Music.
download on iTunes.
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—A collection of country folk love songs sung in airports, garbage dumps, drive-thru windows & amp;shark-infested waters. The album celebrates the little miraculous moments of beauty found in everyday life: a golf course shining in the rain, hanging lights bouncing in the breeze, pigeons singing from billboards, trees blooming in squares of dirt. The songs linger on those moments when we're pulled from the ordinary to feel awed by mystery, bewildered by beauty, terrified by the vast unknowable around us (whether we wander through shady groves or crowded parking lots). Brett Sparks, who writes the music, draws from medieval melody, country-politan string arrangements, tin-pan alley crooners, & dusty hillbilly records to weave together the fabric of this record. Rennie Sparks, who writes the lyrics, makes magical realism from polar adventure stories, turn-of-the-century electricity wars, pagan hunting songs & her own time spent (like most people) riding up elevators, staring out hotel room windows, & driving interstate highways. The inspiration for the words in these songs comes from Rennie's belief that not only does our present world feel like the last days of wonder, but that human life has always felt just this way: full of a sense of impending doom & inevitable self-destruction, but simultaneously steeped in the sacred, the infinite, the impenetrable, the ever-wondrous. Brett's musical compositions & recording process were hybrids of the old & the new; the real & the fake; the analog & the digital. The album is full of such ancient & modern anomalies: analog compressors, vintage instruments & condenser mics, all drawn into the digital world of computer recording. Pedal steel parts were e-mailed from Chicago (Stephen Dorocke-FREAKWATER & JESSE SYKES) & musical saw part sent from London (DAVID COULTER-TEST DEPT, POGUES, TOM WAITS). "Last Days" travels from swamps & caves to laboratories & bowling alleys, always celebrating the mystery & madness in love. The songs explain who's hanging shoes on telephone wires, why automatic sinks in airports sometimes don't see your hands, & why The Handsome Family refuses to go to Heaven unless flies can come too. Also, a tender tale of Tesla's last days: his love for wounded pigeons & his ability to explode light bulbs with his mind. Rennie is eaten by a wild boar. Brett threatens to pull the stars down from the sky. A record of love songs in the true Romantic sense. NO UK/EUROPE/AUSTRALIA
—The DDs stand out as the most unlikely of collaborations between longtime members of the fertile Australian rock scene. While it is not at alll insane to imagine the driving force behind SCIENTISTS, BEASTS OF BOURBON & SURREALISTS, KIM SALMON, working with DIED PRETTY's energetic frontman and songwriter RON PENO, the improbable happens when you consider the result that might flow from such a teaming. What are the odds that these two towering figures of Australian music, famous for swaggering, noisy, swampy punk rock (Salmon) & soaring pop rock (Peno) would concoct such a perfect loveletter to American country folk? Armed only with Kim Salmon's custom Cole Clark acoustic guitar and Peno's singular voice & vision, The Darling Downs crafted an almost impossible album: a record of nuanced beauty, a subtle masterpiece that unfolds like a dahlia with each successive spin, giving the listener something new & unexpected at every helping. All from two guys & one pristine guitar. At times Peno channels the spirit of Appalachian folk's high lonesome sound, complete with yips, yelps & howls, while elsewhere his (improvised?!) vocals are hypnotically understated, almost delicate--threatening to disappear into thin air before crashing down like thunder. Supporting Peno's acrobatic vocal brilliance is Salmon's equally understated, elegant guitar playing, perhaps the most restrained of his career, made all the more stunning when you know the fireworks & growl of which he is capable & for which he is famous. Salmon showcases not only his versatility but playing of such surprisingly refined grace that it defines the album as one of the best listens of 2006. An album of profound subtlety. "With Salmon often infusing the guitar lines with deft lilts & melodies, grasping each song is sometimes as difficult as interpreting a smoke signal in a storm, the ever-shifting qualities of the music making it difficult to categorize. The experience mesmerizes."ŠThe Age (AU). NO AUSTRALIA
—Second album from NY via Memphis singer/songwriter maintains the sense of understated elegance that was apparent on her debut "Arc of Tessa" but leaps light years ahead in melody, musicianship & craftsmanship, outstripping normal expectations for sophomore albums. Her band of aces, TONY MAIMONE (PERE UBU), STEVE GOULDING (MEKONS, GRAHAM PARKER, LAURA CANTRELL), TIM FOLJAHN (TWO DOLLAR GUITAR, CAT POWER) & ERIC MORRISON (HOME) are augmented by amazing guest performances by Ted Reichman (MARC RIBOT, EMIGRE, TZADIK) on accordion, James Mastro (Ian Hunter, Health & Happiness Show) on guitar, & Jean Cook (Ida, Assif Tsahar) on violin & the perfectly chosen SUE GARNER & JOHN MCENTIRE behind the boards. Megan struggles with ghosts, both personal & distant, over 10 country tinged tracks. The album is sprinkled with two ideal covers, including Dylan's "The Wedding Song" that she was born to sing. "Jaw-dropping."-Maxim
—Long, LONG awaited new album from long time Lousiville/NYC rockers
shows them as energetic as ever with a sharpened focus on melody on their seventh
LP. Produced by Tara Jane O’Neil. “Tara Key is the feeling person’s
guitar hero – capable of tearing fist-sized chunks from your soul with
every ecstatic rush of notes – and it’s utterly baffling that her
face doesn’t adorn the back of denim jackets around the land. It’s
been a while since she and breath-stealing partners Tim Harris and Josh Madell
hit a stage in these parts, so you can bet the pent-up energy alone will blow
the doors off their home stage.” -Village Voice
—On their most adventurous album yet & their best since 1998's "Through
the Trees", Brett & Rennie Sparks have outdone themselves. Songs about
haunted Wal-Marts, lovers who chase the fire in streetlights, very VERY deep
holes & the shadows that whisper inside of modern office building all give
full voice to an eerily hopeful edge that has seeped into their music over the
last year or so. A surprisingly low body count album, or as low as we're likely
to get, is meant to rip a tear in the veil between this world & the next.
Musically, Brett's weeks and months in their home studio show though. He learned
pedal steel & musical saw & his compositions are embellished w/trumpet,
mandolin, bowed bass & violin from local Albuquerque musicians. While "Twilight" was
almost universally hailed from Uncut, Mojo, Chicago Tribune, LA Times,
Greil Marcus & Robert Christgau, critics & listeners will be purely ecstatic
over "Singing Bones"!
—"Padgett’s songs make their own world, and that world is
not quite like any other.” -Brooklyn Rail. New 5 song EP finds
Anna Padgett & bandmate Cynthia Nelson (RETSIN, RUBY FALLS, SOPHIE DRINKER)
exploring timeless questions amid playfully blatant countrified melodies & a
newfound confidence. Matt Sutton (Marlarkies, K), Karla Schickele (Ida, K., Beekeeper) & Miggy
Littleton (Ida, K.) provide a musical posse that rounds out the normally spare
duo w/pedal steel, violin, extra guitars & even bass. From the spiritual
to the sublime, love, lust and loss comingle in this joyous celebration of the
art of the well turned phrase, both musical & lyrical.
—One of Harp Magazine's Top Nine Emerging
Songwriters: "There's
nothing astonishing in her background to suggest she would be destined for the
greatness of ner debut album, 'Arc of Tessa'...Incredible musical potential." New
York by way of Memphis singer/songwriter who has managed to corral a fantastic
backing band incl. Tim Foljahn (guitar, lap steel, mandolin-TWO DOLLAR GUITAR,
CAT POWER), Steve Goulding (drums-MEKONS, GRAHAM PARKER, WACO BROS, ARCHER PREWITT),
Tony Maimone (bass-PERE UBU, GARY LUCAS) & Eric Morrison (piano, rhodes-HOME,
LEELS) & help on the album from CHRIS LEE (Smells Like). Picture postcards
of physical or emotional time underpinned by roots tinged music executed w/soulful & subtle
perfection by masters. Megan's voice radiates languid southern indolence but
can also bite just as quickly & strongly. As close to perfect as any record
CTR has released. Hints of Opal, Patsy Cline, Cowboy Junkies, Lucinda Williams,
Mazzy Star.
—Three CD box set includes material from their entire oeuvre including
many studio songs that never found a place on an album, like the incredible,
jazzy Skeleton Bones with Robert from QUINTRON and MATH. Many much-requested
tracks from their first two vinyl albums, Hip Hip Hooray and Here Now Today that
were not included on The Early Hi-Ball Years. Songs from their singles on Hi-Ball, Telstar, SOL, and Insipid Vinyl, including their live favorite, Penguin/Powerhouse Raymond Scott medley, their version of the Devo Corporate Anthem, and their cover of the garage rock nugget Why used to close their live sets. Also includes the entire Hello Records EP, which held some of their most alluring work, previously only available to subscribers of the short-lived service from They Might Be Giants. 56 songs over 3.2 hours, all lovingly remastered, almost all from original source tapes! 52pp perfect bound book full of liners & memorabilia wrapped in eye-popping popcorn box! 21 tracks previously unreleased on CD! plus 12 previously unreleased
tracks!!
—A good song can be deadpan, cutthroat, heartbreaking. A good song can be
perverted and romantic and crestfallen in the same breath. On their new album,
The Naysayer delivers 12 such songs that will make you laugh out loud, rethink
everyday gestures, and hit "play" again. Deathwhisker (saki024),
the debut Naysayer record, showed newcomer-to-music Anna Padgett to be an instinctive
and talented songwriter. Here, the songwriter/guitarist/singer shows she's
not a one-stop visitor: like a good novelist, her powers of observation & ability
to cut to the heart of things are growing year to year. Cynthia Nelson's (Retsin,
Ruby Falls) un-drummer drumming, mischievous angel singing, and strangely beautiful
melodic additions are also in full flower, while Tara Jane O'Neil (Retsin,
Rodan) provides the inimitable guitar and bass work and finely-honed engineer
skills
that tie it all together. Everything about this album feels more assured -
the singing, the playing, the production, the bitter sarcasm - more assured,
but
still like a rare, fleeting thing that's hard to label. It reveals its strong
Texas roots and the spirit of the title's ZZ Top reference: it's got backroads
and beer drinking (whether mentioned or not, the beer's there) as well as a
healthy dose of sex, but the Naysayer is not down-home, porch-sitting country.
More Flannery
O'Connor than Mark Twain, The Naysayer has a darker agenda and vision, with
elements of a southern gothic novel infused w/classic pop music.
—Pioneers of that whole damned permutating scene down there in New Zealand,
Chris Knox & Alec Bathgate, team up again for their first US release since
(Oh my!) 1990's "Weeville." Their belated adoption of digital technology
has allowed our duo to explore new avenues in their cut n paste experimental
pop world much to our benefit. Weird pop songs made from a cutting guitar & some
of the most unlikely samples make up their best work to date. Included is a bonus
EP from the International Tall Dwarfs, featuring music help from JAD FAIR, GRAEME
DOWNS (VERLAINES), JEFF MANGUM (NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL) & LAURA CARTER (ELF POWER), & DAVID & HAMISH
KILGOUR (CLEAN).
—Comprised of two, one hour performances by creator David Greenberger from
a short series commissioned by & presented at St. Ann’s in Brooklyn
Heights, New York in 1994, and broadcast on WNYC, New York Public Radio. Longtime
friend, supporter & collaborator Terry Adams of NRBQ put together a stellar
band including Tom Ardolino (NRBQ), Marshall Allen (Sun Ra Arkestra), Tyrone
Hill & Dave Gordon (Sun Ra Arkestra, NRBQ), Greg Cohen (Tom Waits, Randy
Newman, Elvis Costello, John Zorn’s Masada), Jake Jacobs (Magicians, Jake & the
Family Jewels) & Karen Mantler (ECM solo artist) & wrote & performed
original music. David, with assistance from actors Lili Taylor & Tom Gilroy,
read two themed one-hour shows. Disc One explores Music while Disc Two explores
Love & Relationships, all through the eyes of the residents of the Duplex
Nursing Home, frequently with an insightfully humorous edge. "Modern-day
versions of Chaucer’s reports from the road to Canterbury; they resonate
with a wry humor & a startling insight.”-– New York Times
saki029 Amor Belhom Duo Wavelab CD
OUT OF PRINT
download on iTunes.
saki028 Amor Belhom Duo-S/T CD OUT OF PRINT
download on iTunes.
—Welcome to The Handsome Family's fifth CD—a half-lit world of golden
street lights, haunted parking lots, & invisible birds. In part, a farewell
to Chicago where The Handsome Family have lived for the last twelve years. Recalls
the near-darkness of night in the city where the flickering TVs & traffic
lights hide the sky above. They write some of the most gripping songs in recent
memory, with Rennie supplying the hypnotic lyrics and Brett the slightly quirky,
classic country music. On their latest album, you hear guitar, banjo, piano,
musical saw, accordion, Autoharp, and melodica as well as a mismatched array
of mostly live cymbals and drums. Most combine beautiful, almost lilting melodies
with lyrics that often paint modern fairy tales full of fright, despair, death, & alienation.
While their trademarks are still intact, there is actually a glimmer of light
in the darkness this time around. Perhaps the saddest song ever written, “Passenger
Pigeons”, is now offset by songs with small rays of hope & happy nostalgia.
—8 song minialbum (27min) recorded in an old, haunted nunnery on the beach
in Australia in 1999. Simple, delicate & windswept music that mirrors the
recording environment that even captured the thrum of insects & wind and
ocean noise in the background. Incl. 4 wonderful Aussie musicians plus strings
by SUSAN VOELZ (Poi, Prewitt). Comes in deluxe, full color, high gloss 5" slipcase
with full color innersleeve.
—Tara Jane O'Neil (SONORA PINE, RODAN, Quarterstick) & Cynthia Nelson
(NAYSAYER, RUBY FALLS) recorded their new album at a cabin in the woods in upstate
NY. They've finally found a recorded vehicle for their quirky, emotional pop
songs filled with somber beauty and echoes of wood. Banjo, flute, accordion,
violin, & old English ballad sounds float, appear, and dissolve into the
ether. An anathema for fast times, this record offers porch-settin' as an antidote
for our speedy society. Guest appearances by Karla & Ida of IDA.
—High brow, introspective bedroom smart-pop album from
Cynthia Nelson (RETSIN, RUBY FALLS) who plays drums, sings, plays guitar, recorder,
harmonica and melodica,
and newcomer Anna Padgett who writes and sings the words and plays guitar.
—Rising out of the shadowy forest, & up into a world of gypsy moths,
circling crows, & seeds in the wind. Fireflies in the summer night, rocks
rolling uphill, clothes thrown in the snow, whispering waves, & milky moonlight
all find themselves circling the night sky of the Handsome Family's latest effort.
Murder & love, terror & serenity, sadness & joy— all of these
feelings float like leaves lingering a moment within the tracks of In the Air.
It exudes the fragile beauty of handwoven lace covering the bloody corpse of
your long lost love who's been disemboweled by a wolf pack; a record that doesn't
shy away from the essential bittersweetness of human life.
—Elegant pop rock from ex-Coctail, current Sea & Cake member and Sam
Prekop sideman. While “White Sky” continues in the same vein as “In
The Sun”, it is most undoubtedly the work of a more mature, more focused,
reflective and confident singer, songwriter, musician and arranger. The album
moves from lush, fully orchestrated pop through strong driving rock cuts and
bittersweet, introspective, Nick Drake-ish ballads.
—Well-travelled folk poppers who land firmly & unconditionally in the
melodic folk pop camp. Giving birth to an absolutely gorgeous blend of mostly
downtempo, sparse acoustic numbers garnished just so, with lilting flute harmonica & small
bits of wonderful effects wizardry, & mid-tempo electric tunes that hit just
the right groove while remaining close cousins to their acoustic counterparts
that dominate the album.
—Showcases their beautiful, gothic songs in more traditional
country or Appalachian folk vein. Critically hailed.
saki019 February Tomorrow Is Today CD OUT OF PRINT
saki017 Flowchart Cumulus Mood Twang CD - OUT OF PRINT
saki016 Handsome Family Invisible Hands MLP - OUT OF PRINT
—Debut solo album from Coctails, Sea and Cake, Sam Prekop
band member. A
pop masterpiece.
saki014 Samarai Celestial-Cosmic Gold Millennium CD OUT OF PRINT
—19
songs,
8
non-lp
tracks,
with
some
never before
released.
A sweeping “best
of” done live recorded at their last show! Studio quality sound by Bob Weston
as well, so fear not.
saki012 Flowchart Evergreen Noise is Flexible 12” EP OUT
OF PRINT
—Fans of their unique, urban twist on stark, avant garde country music are
definitely the beneficiaries in this instance. Song writing and performance are
leaps ahead of the charming wackiness of “Odessa” has receded into
the distance, a darker, blacker, and much drier humor has risen in it’s
place. For influences, see: Kafka, Cohen, Carter Family, Flying Burritos, Hank
Sr., Louvin Bros, Neil Young and the Everly Brothers. This is a GREAT record
if we do say so ourselves.
—A definite maturing in the band’s musical sensibility, execution,
vision, & cohesion and a major leap from their previous efforts. Their almost
constant touring since "Peel" came out honed their already keen pop
breadth and depth to razor sharpness on this offering. It’s composed of
ballads, some flat out rockers, some somber, almost folky Nick Drake-ish numbers,
a pump organ funereal dirge, & of course a few well-crafted catchy pop tunes
with the kind of flair that only they can muster. Recorded with Stuart Moxham
(Young Marble Giants), Bob Weston (Shellac, Volcano Suns) & by themselves
on a four track in their loft.
saki009 Samarai Celestial Isis Sun CD OUT OF PRINT
saki008 Flowchart Multi-Personality Tabletop Vacation CD OUT OF PRINT
—Debut encompasses all things good about Brit pop. Mark Refoy (ex-Spacemen
3/Spiritualized) provides shoe-gazingrock, alluring vocals, hypnotic guitars
ranging from pure acoustic jangle to washes of controlled fuzz, & killer
rhythmic interplay between bass & drum kit. All backed by the everpresent
melodic hook. Produced by Zion Train. Few left!
—
Reissue compiles “Arc in Round” 7”, “Open Doors, Closed
Windows” LP, & the “Science” 12”. Factoryesque, ethereal,
gray, melancholic, dreamlike and compelling. “The best band on the planet.” Jamie
T. Conway, Melody Maker
—
Debut combines extra chunky guitar and bass lines for a grungy feel on some
songs, while capturing a twisted, post-progressive country vibe, highlighted
by Brett’s dry, low-key, Johnny Cash-style vocals, on others. Stories
about giant ants, the Big Bad Wolf, ponies, gorillas & that old favorite,
death.
saki004 Palm Fabric Orchestra Vague Gropings... CD OUT OF PRINT
—
Rockin’ album produced by Bob Weston (Shellac/Volcano Suns) & Stuart
Moxham (Young Marble Giants)! Surefire pop gem after gem.
—
Their most challenging album, originally released in 1993. An excellent instrumental
garage "jazz-like" album with 4 untrained guys distilling their favorite
bits of Mingus, Sun Ra & Miles into a cohesive work that was too rock for
the jazz snobs & waaaay too jazz for the pop/rock crowd at the time. As
usual, they were either way past their time, or way ahead of it.
From the liners: "A particular aesthetic that could fall somewhere between
The Shaggs' masterpiece “Philosophy of the World” & Albert Ayler's “Spirits
Rejoice". Features performances by KEN VANDERMARK on 3 songs, HAL RUSSELL
(NRG ENSEMBLE) on 2 songs & are his final recordings, & Dave Max Crawford
(ARCHER PREWITT, POI DOG PONDERING) on 2 songs. "Riveting in its intensity & refreshing,
for these days, in its originality." — Cadence 8/94
—Compiles selected tracks from the vinyl only, long out
of print Hi•Ball
releases 1990's “Hip Hip Hooray!”, 1991's “Here Now Today” & the
ever charming “Songs for Children” 7”EP, plus unreleased stuff
only available here. The release that started this whole mess.
Postage and Handling
| Domestic Shipping | $2.50 |
|
| International Shipping | $6.00 |
| Handling Charge: | $2.00 |
US: Sent First Class.
Canada: Sent Air Mail.
Europe/Japan: Sent Air Mail
NZ/Australia/Malaysia: Sent Air Mail
Payment: Well-concealed cash or check/MO payable to "Carrot Top
Records, Inc." please (don’t use quotes...you’d be surprised).
No credit cards!!
Mailed in 15 working days if you pay by non-IL check. Money order or cash gets
you instant satisfaction when we have it together!
ILLINOIS RESIDENTS NOTE - ORDERS SHIPPED TO ILLINOIS MUST INCLUDE
ILLINOIS SALES TAX of 9%
for example one cd ordered by somebody in Illinois would cost $11 + $2.50 postage
+ $0.99 sales tax for a grand total of $13.99.
Carrot Top Records, Inc.
935 West Chestnut, Suite LL15
Chicago, Illinois 60622
