Utah Carol was formed in 1997 on the West Side of Chicago. Utah Carol's music is an eclectic mix of dream pop, folk, americana and indie rock mixed with happy/sad, boy/girl harmony vocals. Utah Carol's sound has a variety of vintage organ sounds, syn [+]Utah Carol was formed in 1997 on the West Side of Chicago. Utah Carol's music is an eclectic mix of dream pop, folk, americana and indie rock mixed with happy/sad, boy/girl harmony vocals. Utah Carol's sound has a variety of vintage organ sounds, synthesizers, loops, slide, electric and acoustic guitars, lush instrumentation and catchy melodies.
The band's name comes from a traditional cowboy song about a red blanket and a cowboy who dies trying to save his friend Lenore from a stampede.
Utah Carol consists of Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis. The duo has been writing songs together since 1995. JinJa and Grant compose the music and write the lyrics, as well as produce, arrange, perform and publish their songs at their studio, Stomping Ground Studios, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
"Comfort for the Traveler," the band's second album is available now on CDBaby.com
REVIEWS Copper Press, Steve Brydges Bouncy and frollicksome, the music of Utah Carol a husband and wife duo , is a happy lot, despite whatever sadness seeps into their quieter melodic moments or the mellower vocal moments. Though the band is versatile with various forms of music, from R&B to rock to surf, etc., their heart lies in twangy Americana, as most of the duo's songs feature some form of toe-tappin' country feel, plaintive musings delivered with gentle voices, a little slide guitar, a lot of an acoustic, and a definite reverence for the genre. It's the Americana that ties the album together, but at the same time, it doesn't limit Utah Carol from successfully exploring everything from jangly surf to jingles to damn fine funky grooves. They do it all so economically, too, with only two of the twenty songs stretching beyond three minutes.
Splendidezine.com, George Zahora As I've mentioned before, I like it when a band takes me completely by surprise. Case in point: the opening moments of Wonderwheel suggest that Utah Carol is another starkly melodic alt-country duo...but such is not the case. If Wonderwheel is an alt-country album, it's an alt-country album produced by Van Dyke Parks...which is a pretty interesting concept in itself. There's a strong, strong pop aesthetic at work here amid all the twang. It's evident in the lush sophistication of the melodies -- "Charmed Life",
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