LAURA-MARY CARTER
Town Called Nothing (Velveteen)
Taking a road trip deep into Americana-land for Town Called Nothing, Laura-Mary Carter has left behind the rock and riffage of her regular duo, Blood Red Shoes, to explore more nuanced landscapes. Backed and produced by Ed Harcourt, Town Called Nothing doesn’t lack in atmosphere or aesthetic. notes drip from tremolo guitars and the imagery of wide-open vistas with nothing to fill them is convincingly created by Carter.
The clash of wide-lens dreamworld and the narrow focus of reality in the six songs that make up this mini-album fits well with the soundworld. But Laura-Mary Carter’s writing isn’t nuanced enough for such a stripped-back approach. As soon as the thundering guitars enter in standout Better On My Own it suddenly feels like Carter is back home, rather than lost in the wilderness of the wild west of A Town Called Nothing.
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES