Nashville
singer/songwriter
Carey Ott may
be only two
records deep
into his
career, but
with Human
Heart he has
unleashed what
can only be
described as
an epic. It is
20 songs long
and runs for
about 73
minutes,
making it what
us old-timers
stuck in the
vinyl age
would call a
double album.
Bursting with
all sorts of
ideas and
enough
genre-switcheroos
to make your
head spin, you
would be
forgiven if
you were to
think
that Human
Heart sets
itself up for
an epic fail
just in its
scope and
ambition. But
you know what?
It generally
works and
hangs together
well. There
are a bevy of
highlights to
be found here,
from the
rootsy Jack
Johnson-esque
"Ain't No
Upside" to the
Michael Penn
sound-a-like
"Style" (which
incorporates
lyrics from
"The
Star-Spangled
Banner") to
the
Madness-meets-U2
sound of "Wish
I Could"................Human Heart is a sprawling, ambitious
listen and one
that rewards
listeners who
want to hear
an artist in
possession of
a dynamic
range with his
songwriting
chops. Ott
clearly has a
lot of heart,
and if
you're looking
for an album
that you'll
have to call
in sick to
work to fully
digest, Human
Heart clearly
delivers.
By Zachary
Houle 14
March 2011 -
Pop Matters
*Zachary Houle
is a writer
living in
Ottawa,
Ontario,
Canada. He has
been a
Pushcart Prize
nominee for
his short
fiction, and
the recipient
of a writing
arts grant
from the City
of Ottawa. He
has had
journalism
published in
SPIN magazine,
The National
Post (Canada),
Canadian
Business, and
more.
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Carey Ott - 'Lightning 100' WRLT & '3rd and
Lindsley' Celebrate their 20th & 21st Birthday! - Mar 29 2011
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Carey Ott Press Release: .jpg) Back
from a couple of knock -
out gigs @ Canadian
Music Week www.cmw.net in Toronto. Playing as a four
piece with Toronto's Kensington Studio House band, The Modern
Primitives, they nailed
it!
Carey
joins a cast of his peers
to help celebrate Birthday
parties for "3rd and
Lindsley" and "Lightning 100", two
of Nashville's most
staunch supporters in the
development of Independent
recording artists. An
impressive array of those
artists make up what
should be a special night
in every way, shape and
form.
3rd
and Lindsley Press
Release:
Tues. March 29 - 2011- "Lightning 100" - WRLT and "3rd and Lindsley" Nashville are proud to be celebrating our 21st and 20th Birthdays with : Gabe Dixon, Katie Herzig, Carey Ott, Trent Dabbs, Josh Hoge, Cary Brothers, Andrew Belle, KS Rhoads, Erin McCarley, Tyrone Wells, Andy Davis, Griffin House and Special Guests - 7:30 pm
Other Highlights:
ISC 2010 : A recent
highlight is Carey's choice
as a finalist by the world
recognized "International
Song Competition"
for
the song "Anyone" in
the Unsigned Only category.
Finalists were chosen from
over 15,000 entrants, making
this pretty special.
"Anyone" has
been on two recent ABC
network television
series. "The
Gates" and "Make
It Or Break It."
ISC 2010: "Getting
Thru", another
song from Carey's
current Indie release of
Human Heart was entered
into the Pop / Top 40
category and was selected
as a semi-finalist. The
increased
competitiveness in
2010's competition makes
the status of
semi-finalist an
exceptionally noteworthy
achievement. Good stuff!
"I lost track of Carey Ott after his Dualtone release
Lucid Dream.
That was one
of the great
lost albums of
the decade in
my opinion and
it's nice to
see he's still
out there
making music."
- Easy Ed - No
Depression
Check out the recent reviews : An Epic of Epic Epicness A CD with this many songs, 20, and this long, nearly 80 minutes, shouldn't work. Oddly, this one does, due mainly to the fact Ott is a talented songwriter. Ott also takes several different approaches that make him unpredictable. Case in point is that Ott nails you with the sincerity of the folky tone of opener "Anyone," but then immediately goes electric with "Save My Life" and then wages a Jack Johnson-like singalong by third track "Ain't No Upside." B- - Tom Harrison - The Vancouver Province - E-Today - Tuesday, January 17 / 11 Chameleon-like, Carey Ott's second CD, "Human Heart," drifts from the melodic pop sounds mined by Neil Finn, Peter Gabriel, ColdPlay, Josh Rouse and Sean McConnell. Extending the same up-tempo nature of "Lucid Dream" (2007), "Human Heart" offers twenty tunes and seventy plus minutes of music. Being a prolific songwriter is a good thing. Having a strong sense of what to leave in and what to leave out is just as important. There is much to like here including the catchy opening track "Anyone" and the Peter Gabriel-ish "Bigredbutton". However, what might have been a bulls-eye, feels more like a shotgun. Ott reminds me a bit of the late Harry Nilsson who borrowed from the fairly wide palette of his contemporaries, both in jest and in earnest, while establishing a unique sound. Like Nilsson, Ott possess an ability to craft songs with keen pop sensibility and broad appeal. © James Filking The Beatles made a mark on popular culture of unrivaled proportions. Forty years after their break-up, the uber group still affects musicians of all genres; their influence seems to never go out of fashion. Singer/songwriter Carey Ott is one of those rooted in the British band's artistry. His sophomore full-length album "Human Heart" is an ambitious 20-track phenomenon bursting with warm and organic arrangements of catchy pop/rock melodies that are deliciously reminiscent of the Lennon/McCartney energy. Co-produced by Ott on the DiscoverRock.com label, the album is a veritable Hook City, full of feel-good vibes and grooves to sink into. The front-half features uplifting material with lovely sonic landscapes, then mid-way through drifts into darker, more emotional territory, where his vocal chops take charge. "Be Honest" is one of his few radio-friendly pop tunes, while "Coming Up For Air" is sung with a Neil Young plaintive wail. Heavy-bass runs carry the Lennon-esque "Wish I Could," and in the stand-out title track, the artist gives optimistic advice with a gentle Paul Simon approach. Several tracks take intriguing turns into more experimental arenas, proving unsettling and discordant at times, adding a South Asian techno pad here, a South African chorus there, a campy European accordion or an unusual lyric that includes most of the National Anthem. Some of it may be head-scratching, but undoubtedly risk-taking and gutsy. Ott gives his best vocal performance on "Say You Do," showing his range into falsetto heights, backed by a haunting production of organ and acoustic guitar. Lyrics are, for the most part, poetic mood setters rather than storytellers. In his melodic "Getting Thru," Ott sings, "Look at the sun/How it paints using colors/That no artists could ever find/Look at that love/All around you feel the touch/It surrounds you from the inside." The song has an underlying "I Hope You Dance" kind of alternate chorus vocal that is very effective. Melodic repetition and unmistakable sonic vibes push this album towards being sought after for film and TV soundtracks, more than pushing its selected songs up the charts on Top 40 radio...but that's a pretty desirable place to be today. by Janet Goodman - Music News Nashville has posted a
review of
Carey Ott's
"Human
Heart."
http://www.musicnewsnashville.com/archives/reviews/2011/careyott.htm
Visit the artist's website at www.careyott.com | |||||||||||
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