Carey Scott - Flint & Steel

Carey Scott

Flint & Steel
self-released

3.8 out of 5

By Eva Cantillo

Flint & Steel is a well-named first album from musician Carey Scott. The album is rough and raw; it presents songs that seem they once permeated over and through a large bonfire on a warm autumn night. There are songs on this album that  are about trials and tribulations and personal shortcomings from the author. They often resonate with an honesty, melancholy, initimacy that is not unlike that of Bonnie "Prince" Billy. To often I I found myself reaching for a bottle of Jack for solace as the album progressed.

We start things off with "Bow & Arrow" which is no more than a delicate, softly picked guitar melody and his voice. The song is haunting yet beautiful and can leave you in a pondering state gazing towards the west wondering where the time has gone. "When you Fly (Bird)" is just as sad and beautiful as the first one but even more infectious. The lyrics of the album are simple and come right out of a misty wind from a mountain range. On the song  “I Didn’t Know,” he sings “I was chopping wood…” before detailing a struggle about mis-timing an important situation. The songs are definitely styled from country western life; “Dangerous Dan” is an interesting tune about a run-away fugitive that is reminiscent of the plots of western classics. The song “Walk About” is even accentuated with some good ol’ fashioned whistling. We leave with "Bones In My Way" which is another haunting song where Scott seems his most relaxed. The melodies of all of the tracks are really gentle, perhaps too much at times. The one thing that took away from the record was the varied quality of the recordings. You can hear a substantial difference in the recording quality from "Bow & Arrow" to "Bones in my way". I would have loved to hear a version of "Bones in my Way" that was recorded as well as "Bow & Arrow".
 
While listening to the album, all of the songs begin to meld together and it becomes one big country-folk campfire song. This is a genuine pure approach to producing music. Carey Scott is basically a solo project and the result of Flint & Steel is a directive acoustic compilation. This being his first effort I'm looking forward to hear some more melancholy inspired songs soon to pass the time.

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