Review Summary: Scary as a puppy dog.
Sean Carey must be one busy man. If he isn’t touring the world playing with the juggernaut folk orchestra that is Bon Iver, he is in the studio, recording or touring his own project, which is titled S. Carey. Carey’s second venture as a solo project,
Hoyas comes as a mix of elaborate textural sound scapes and strewn percussive effects, which is highly distant to the well received debut,
All We Grow that touched more on an authentic and organic indie/folk sound.
Hoyas is everything experimental, and is warm in the way it delves into the other side of a sound that you would least expect to come from the man that plays for Justin Vernon.
Hoyas begins with the heavily synth laden ‘Two Angles’ which uses hauntingly echoed vocals parts, and builds into smoother horn section. This provocative sense of eletronica really sets the listener up for the rest of this EP’s experience, glitch-y, blissed-out, synth hooked pop with essence. The two opening tracks, ‘Two Angles’ and ‘Avalanche’ are the real strong point, with exploration to juxtaposed textures and syncopated percussion outbursts, giving a wholesome and animated vibe. While the ending tunes, ‘Inspir’ and ‘Marfa’ just seem to have come to the party, offered nothing, and silently slipped out the back door to make sure no one noticed them leave, which is a dishonour to
Hoyas as it could have been a much stronger EP. Highly overdubbed vocals and 80’s fuzz influenced synth lines, the ending two tracks seem to be put under the shadow of the vibrancy of the earlier ‘Two Angles’ and ‘Avalanche’.
It’s hard for any Bon Iver fan to think that this is just “Beth/Rest” part 2, yet there is more substance here. Yes, the EP was written as an accident in Carey’s attic, but there is an endearing and nourishing understanding to what has been created.
Hoyasseems to fill that empty night time void that is so often found within people. The long and stretched silent gaps to the ambient and eclectic synth lines,
Hoyas works wonders until it is let down by inconsistency, but don’t let that throw you off, as Carey has created some enigmatically beautiful music.
