Review Summary: A weary Aussie traveller's tall tales and musings come to life on impressive debut album.
Luke Caruana has all the calling cards of an unsung folk music hero. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, the gifted, unpretentious twenty-something musician has travelled all across his native country and even over to Europe in pursuit of performing his unique acoustic stylings both on his lonesome and with a backing band. Plentiful hard work and a solid live reputation have given Caruana (better known as Carra) several fruitful years as a touring musician, though still yet to reach the heights of success as your Xavier Rudds or your John Butlers in Australia’s roots music scene. Perhaps with
Borderline, Carra’s long-time-coming debut record, he shall inch closer to achieving this. And even if this is not to be, he can still take solace in the fact he has created a very focused, likable album which has the potential to appeal to fans of many different styles of folk, roots and acoustic blues.
The most notable aspect of
Borderline comes from Carra’s guitar playing. It is absolutely masterful, trickling through the centre of each song with flowing, gorgeously arranged picking and chord progressions. “Down the Line” is one of the strongest examples of his talents behind a six-string, recalling Pink Moon-era Nick Drake with its polyrhythmic arrangements matched to sombre-natured yet somehow endearing lyrics: “We will walk alone/Side by side/And we will meet/Way down the line/We will be where we belong”. In addition, the flamenco jaunt of “Gaia” and the almost entirely instrumental closer “In the End” substantiate any claims directed in appraisal of Carra’s abilities as a guitarist. If there’s one thing that remains consistent throughout the record, it is this element of the music.
Borderline is an album of mixed emotions, but sonically stays consistently subdued, spiritual and in quiet awe of the life surrounding it. Album highlight “Blind as Love” lyrically seeks closure and emancipation, depicting a state of mind in which Caruana battles jealousy with his “friends and the world outside”, before confessing: “I need some guidance” over a melancholy, drop-tuned acoustic background complete with soft jazz brushes and violin. Meanwhile, “The Travel Song” focuses exactly upon what the title suggests – the life of travelling, and just to what extent this weighs upon the mind. In its essence, “The Travel Song” is about striking the balance as a human between people and places – a great admiration and passion for the latter, but never forgetting or sacrificing the former that you love. “I’m far across the stars”, Caruana laments, before adding: “I’m miles inside your heart” with deep, wistful emotion in his voice. The song stands as one of the most impressive works in Carra’s arsenal, and a perfect introduction to this side of his music.
Caruana knew exactly what he wanted to do in creating
Borderline, specifically to produce a work that demonstrated his calmer, more folk-oriented side.
Borderline succeeds in this respect, but as an overall representation of Carra as an artist, it is an incomplete portrayal. His vocals, too, whilst more on the mark here than on his previous two EPs (2005’s
Travelling Solo and 2007’s
Be Yourself), still have some significant pitch and depth issues, particularly when dealing with his lower range. It never drives the songs themselves to the point of being completely unlistenable, but nonetheless remains a flaw in his music.
In the greater scheme of things, ultimately, there’s a lot more on here to be positive about than to criticise – as far as debut albums go, Carra fares remarkably. Anyone with even a passing interest in Australian roots would be doing themselves a favour in taking the time to experience, and subsequently appreciate,
Borderline.
www.myspace.com/carramusic
