--Ada Wofford
----Released 16 December 2021
Det Cart Sid are a five piece out of Philadelphia blending jazz, rock, and shoegaze influences into unique mini-scores to films that exist solely in their collective mind. Their bio describes Det Cart Sid as: “A jazz-centered rock band based on themes of mental illness and the darker side of psychedelia. Fusing both intricacy and chaos, it celebrates the marriage of noise and ambiance with musicianship and thoughtful songwriting for a cinematic experience.” This reference to film is difficult to escape as the tracks move and progress with such purpose and fluidity that even the instrumental tracks tell a compelling story. Add the explosive instrumentation and production, and these stories are now rendered in bolder-than-life technicolor.
The tracks often begin and end very similarly, slowly rising from nothingness and then slowly descending back into it. Though this never has the effect of repetition, but rather that of continuity—stringing the tracks together in a manner both seamless and purposeful. The playing on this album is extraordinary, with ambient soundscapes giving way to melodic rock, to soaring guitar solos, to the type of jazzy jams one might expect to hear from some cosmic lounge act. Each track is a journey within the larger journey of the album, resulting in an experience which demands multiple play throughs.
Det Cart Sid’s singer and primary songwriter, Brandon Howard, adorns the band’s atmospheric and jazzy compositions with their deep and mellifluous voice, often slipping into glassy falsettos with such incredible ease and grace that Howard almost tempts the listener to take something so extraordinary for granted. Despite the complexity of the arrangements, the vocals never feel to be at odds with the band, nor merely sitting on top of the mix. Instead, Det Cart Sid has managed to compose these tracks in such a way that every part supports every other part. Everything necessary, everything exact—obsessive clockmakers who refuse to settle for good enough.
When I reached out to Brandon Howard about the recording process and the gear the band used, they had this to say:
We recorded in a former mail sorting room of the old Merchantville post office. It was tracked over five days with a blend of live and multi-tracking. The band was set up together and we could do any one instrument or group of instruments at will (just drums and bass, just keys and guitar, just both guitars, etc.) It was over 50+ hours in 5 days so it was super intense.
I wrote the songs from fall 2016 to summer 2017 and had the first band practice in winter 2017. Over the course of the next few years we did several demos and had one failed recording attempt that led to us firing the drummer and getting a new guy. Eventually we recorded the album in February 2020 and released in it December 2021 after a long period of mixing, over dubs, and detail work over the course of the pandemic.
I played a Hofner Les Paul going into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I used a TC Electronic Arena reverb and a Boss DD7 and DD6 for most of my spatial effects.
Ron used an SX Ursa Mn6 (bass) going into a Kustom 1×15 bass amp. He used two multi fx units, a Boss GT6b and Boss ME70.
Ed played a Gibson Les Paul going into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. He had an extreme amount of pedals, but I recall a Boss DD20, a Strymon Big Sky, a Friedman over drive, and a Digitech Whammy.
John used a Korg SV2 into a Roland keyboard amp.
You can truly hear the amount of time, effort, and gear that went into this record on each and every track. I know Brandon Howard personally and have witnessed their tenacious work effort and high standards first-hand. The production and arrangement are both so lovingly executed that I found myself often missing the actual tune and focusing solely on the overall sound of the record.
This self-title debut by Det Cart Sid is more than just a record, it’s a primer of what this band is capable of, a musical manifesto of sorts—And I can’t wait to hear what they come up with next. Purchase a digital copy of the album via BandCamp and listen to “Witch Doctor” below: