today is a two-for-one special, dear reader! we are premiering S.G. Carlson’s new song “Spangled Sun” from the upcoming Sing The Hits (out everywhere April 1), but wait, there’s more: you can also listen to our interview with Carlson below (and on streaming sites everywhere).
“Spangled Sun” is, like many of the songs on Sing The Hits, warm, melodious, and unassuming. it smells like a crisp autumn day. it looks like a sunset. it’s that feeling of being next to a space heater in an otherwise chilly room. what i love about it (and the record) is how every moment counts. “Spangled Sun” feels sandworn, such that everything that you hear feels integral to the song. remove one piece, and it would be instantly noticeable, like one of those wobbly chair legs. you can think of it as an exercise in modesty, but the end result is something that feels classic and a bit timeless, like it’s been sitting in Carlson’s head for years now. he knows this song like a childhood home.
and listen for the opening CasioTone drum machine in the intro/outro. that’s right: you’re listening to CT music with CT music in it. check out the embed below, and pre-order the record before its release on 4/1/2020.
for this ct verses audio interview, i spoke with Sam Carlson. by day, Sam is the engineer and producer of Sans Serif recordings in New Haven, where he’s worked with bands like SHY, Evelyn Gray, the Fiction Kids, Killer Kin, Ditch Boys, Fiction, and more, and by night, he is a musician and songwriter, playing in Ports of Spain, Laundry Day, and the Proud Flesh. i’m talking with him specifically today about his solo work as “S.G. Carlson” and the upcoming Sing The Hits. i adore this record, and i’m excited for people to hear it. in this interview, i talk with Sam about what it’s like to go solo, his philosophy for recording other peoples’ bands, and we unravel the mystery of who wrote that catchy jingle for those Narangansett beer commercials.
