Mount Carmel
Columbus, Ohio, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF
Music
Press
Descending the steps to Webster Hall’s Studio is always an experience. You can hear the muffled sound of the band playing but you can never tell what the room looks like. This past Saturday, Columbus, Ohio natives Mount Carmel had the entire room head banging and playing air guitar.
It was possibly one of my favorite experiences down in Webster Hall’s Studio. I’ve been there with the room packed to the max and had a horrible time. With some room to breathe and enough dance floor to move around, the crowd had nothing but love to give to James McCain (Drums), Matthew Reed (Guitar/Vox), & Nick Tolford (Bass/Vox).
The intimate crowd loved Reed’s solos which were as technical as they were bluesy. Tolford showed off beautiful technicality and groove of his own, as McCain stayed in the pocket for the entirety of their set. The audience was the fourth member of the band as they sang along and made the these Ohioans feel right at home. Stay tuned for great things to come this year as they prepare to release their 4th LP. - DMNDR
Mount Carmel rocks. That’s all you need to know.
You want details? Fine. The three-piece based out of Columbus, Ohio, plays a stripped-down, high-octane form of bluesy rock, as befits their inclusion on the excellent label, Alive Mastersounds. Vocalist Matthew Reed’s voice is gutsy and raw, his guitar playing thickly distorted and unadorned, while the rhythm section of brother Patrick Reed on bass and drummer James McCain bash out the jams with the best of them. Track number two on the album, “Back On It”, is a stone-cold classic, a masterpiece of crunching riffage whose three minutes fly by all too quickly – it could easily extend into a 10-minute jam (and in concert, let’s hope it does).
Other strong tracks crowd the album, like “One More Morning” with its crunchy guitar riff and its Cream-era Eric Clapton-esque vocals. “Whisper” then has an anthemic chorus and gritty, frenetic guitar line, while “Hangin On” offers some serious midtempo blues-sludge. Even the 98-second instrumental throwaway “Bridge to Nowhere” is stuffed full of Roy Buchanan-ish guitar squeals. Sure, not every track is a masterpiece, like “Swallow Me Up”, which has off-kilter rhythms that never quite click into place, but these interludes pass quickly, and it’s on to the next riff. Long live rawk, y’all. - PopMatters
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
Columbus, Ohio based blues-rock trio, Mount Carmel consists of guitarist/lead-singer: Matt Reed, bassist/back-up vocalist: Nick Tolford, and drummer: James McCain. While Matt is the primary song-writer, each member contributes a unique element to the music that comes together on the whole as gritty and raw blues-rock. Boasting heavily riff-driven tunes with prominent vocal hooks, Mount Carmel has a Sound that borrows from 1960s-70s blues-rock and maintains a sense of originality that connects with a broad variety of fans.The identity of Columbus is so apparent in both their music and personal lives. As authentic musicians fiercely in love with their craft, the three work days at local business and hit the garage without fail nightly to hone their true calling. Their music is as solid and tight knit as their connection with their hometown and their hometown fans. The power-trio already has three albums and a lot of road under its belt, and has earned a reputation as a stellar live act. "Get Pure" is their latest effort, put out by Alive Naturalsound. Paul Hamann recorded it in Cleveland at Suma Recordings, where albums by Grand Funk Railroad, Pere Ubu and the Black Keys were made. Jim Diamond mixed in Detroit at Ghetto Recorders. The Fire Note says “Their sound reminds me of the more raw Black Keys from the early 2000’s...The groove and vibe that Mount Carmel achieve is their strength as Get Pure just keeps rocking along.”
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