Carey Ott has a quality that no amount of marketing could embellish or hide. He is a hard working musician that lets his music do all the talking. His songs have a way of sounding familiar and inventive while at the same time reaching listeners with substance, not lumping them in the head with form. Through a combination of feeling, voice, and the sounds that magnify these talents Ott fills an indie-pop canvas with different shades of some well used colors. Lucid Dream, his solo debut is set to release on the historically country-fried Dualtone label and while his sound is just about anything but honky tonkin’, they think he’s worth the chance.
Talented where it’s most important, Ott is as convincing a songwriter as he is a singer which is a duality in minority among many of his peers. The subtleties hidden in the record’s production give many of the tracks a complexity that is not overbearing to the lay listener while satisfying the most hardened buffs. Most four minute songs don’t demand this much attention. Where many modern pop contingents would abhor a slide guitar sight unseen, Ott uses it tastefully as a driving force, but only where it fits. Lucid Dream is not a repetitious highlight reel of what’s been successful for other people lately, it is the culmination of an artist’s ambition.
Ott, formerly of reveled Chicago band Torben Floor, has seen his share of doors opening and doors closing. The alt-rockers were courted by labels and even recorded songs for Atlantic Records, only to be passed on and sent back to the pool of artists on the brink. Understandably, the experience has left him less than optimistic about the business side of being a musician. As his album nears release on a Grammy winning record label with a song featured on ABC’s primetime hit, “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ott speaks skeptically about his current position in the industry, “This is a hard game with a lot of pitfalls and competition and sharks. I’m only beginning to comprehend the difficulties involved with being an artist for hire…I’m learning to not have expectations in this business.”
This view may have influenced his choice in fellow workers on Lucid Dream. Co-produced alongside of longtime collaborator Ed Tinley and the highly talented Ray Kennedy (Ron Sexsmith, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams), Ott confesses, “There were three cooks in that kitchen.” Although the artifact speaks for itself, his recollection of their time together is positive. “It was valuable. I have worked with Tinley for years and I had no idea what to expect from Ray, so I wanted to have a close ally with me that appreciated my own vision for the record. Ray got it though and it turned into a great collaboration between the three of us.”
The sound of Lucid Dream is reminiscent of the more intricate pop stylings of the Actual Tigers or Wilco and while Carey Ott rubs elbows as much with Sondre Lerche as he does with David Gray, his ability to be both concise and meaningful borrows from the best parts of those he is mentioned alongside. Critics many times over have praised Ott’s catchy use of melody, which is a great start, but where he really wins the prize is in his immediate familiarity. These songs, and it is a great group of songs, seem like you’ve heard them somewhere right out of the gate. He is the kind of artist that stays on the tip of your tongue, you relate and assign his sound to moments or periods and are enriched by it in the process.
The balance between good music and good sound is often buried under the weight that the combination bears. Between Ott’s experience and counterpart producers the scale seems to level. “I’d recorded and produced on my own for over 10 years when Lucid came around, so I had strong ideas about what makes a good production. Ed taught me a lot about understatement. Ray is a master engineer.” The fruits of their labor are brimming with possibility: “Virginia” is a AAA shoe in, while “You Got Love” and “Daylight” are campus anthems. On the other side of the coin, “Mother Madam” and “Sunbathing” are sandal wearing, acoustic goodbyes to summer. The first four tracks alone would make great singles across as many radio platforms.
Commercially, what is most attractive about the music on Lucid Dream is the fact that the songs offer a variety suited for many degrees of pop success. With that being said, what is most remarkable is that it all seems effortless, natural, and sounds great. Throughout the record Ott is connected, but never over affected. He doesn’t have to bleed on his guitar to convince you that he is sincere, but on the same note he’s not blowing a mic full of hot air. The thoughtfulness in what he sings is paired with the ability to sound good doing it, resulting in a record that you can connect with differently over many listens. Many artists seem to excel in only one of those areas and compensate through gimmicks and distraction to cover the rest. These aren't songs that live and die by the hook; they've already got you by the time the chorus hits.
While he is undoubtedly gaining speed as a solo artist, his ambition and forward thinking guarantee at least a good fight, should all else fail: “There are always things I hear, production quirks or whatever, that “professionals” sometimes discredit. Like bizarre hums or Casio strings or an airplane flying overhead. Random sounds that I want to incorporate into a production. I hate all of the arbitrary ‘rules’ of the studio. Bullshit. That’s why I plan to produce my own record next time.” From its lush, sweeping arrangements to its gritty rockers, Lucid Dream should be a pleasant surprise to many in 2006 and the year approaching. If Dualtone doesn’t get just what they want out of this trip into the pop music world Carey Ott isn’t the kind of guy to let it slow him down.
http://www.onetimesone.com/interviews/carey-ott-lucid-dream.php
Chicago’s Carey Ott www.careyott.com downloads at: www.dualtone.com on the other hand is far more varied pop music disc than Joshua’s. Carey has a great knack for finding a hook, sticking with it throughout the song’s 3 to 4 min. time frame on his Dualtone debut, “Lucid Dream”. A clever, Beatlesque rocking affair. Not a clunker to be found on this disc. The kind of music Paul McCartney should be making these days. Most likely going to be in my year end poll.
Stand out tracks for me:
“Am I Just On”
“Shelf Life”
“Lucid Dream”
Grade:
A
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http://inmyroommymusic.blogspot.com/2006/08/male-singersongwriter-renaissance.html |
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“If Radiohead went Americana, you mighty get Carey Ott. On his gem of a debut, the Chicago-based singer summons the Kinks’ trick of combing lilting vocals with punishing guitars, and the insightful “Daylight” sounds like a lost White Album track. However, Ott is already more than the sum of his influences. The mordant “Shelf Life” laments the passing years with a surprisingly bright melody, while “Virginia” finds the singer talking himself out of a tryst even as he climbs the girl’s stairs. Ott has a cinematic talent for chronicling awkward moments that leave the listener no
dding in rueful recognition. We defy you not to say, “Yeah, been there.”
For fans of: Damien Rice, Ron Sexmith, Ray Davies
–Performing Songwriter Magazine
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Carey Ott's melodic pop is catchy and appealing March 9, 2006
Former Chicagoan Carey Ott's new LP is one of a good-sized handful of anticipated 2006 releases from Nashville's rock and pop community — and judging by early tastes of it, might be one of the discs with the widest appeal.
Due out in May on Nashville label Dualtone, Ott's Lucid Dream straddles a couple of melodic lines comfortably, with sounds that fit in the pop singer-songwriter landscape with fellow Nashvillian David Mead and former Nashvillian Josh Rouse, but also keeps a moody melodicism that will appeal to Anglophiles who gravitate more toward polished Britrock players like Travis.
It's the kind of pop that can appeal to both collegiate types and their moms — á la Coldplay — in that it's inoffensive and catchy, but still has some youthful enthusiasm. Fans of TV's Grey's Anatomy got a little preview of Ott's new music early this year, when the show played Dream's leadoff track, Am I Just One, in a January episode.
Before heading off to Austin for the South by Southwest music festival, Ott plays a hometown set tonight at 12th & Porter (114 12th Ave. N., 254-7250) with Stephanie Dosen, starting at 7 p.m. Cover is TBA.
—Nicole Keiper, Staff Writer 
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Carey Ott - Lucid Dream Thursday March 16, 2006
Dualtone
It's no secret that singer/songwriters are a dime a dozen. However, long before you get to the first chorus of the opener "Am I Just One" it's clear that Chicago-born, Nashville-based tunesmith Carey Ott has a unique flair for executing catchy, thoughtful tunes. With the exception of a chiming Fender Rhodes, the instrumentation is stock bass/guitar/drums, but Ott and veteran producer Ray Kennedy have crafted an unusually warm and rich-sounding record that pairs the tunes with flawless arrangements.
Central to the recipe is Ott's voice, which floats effortlessly around and through the melodies. You'll hear a bit of the stark intimacy of singer/songwriters like Ron Sexsmith, but perhaps because Ott used to front the regional alt-rock band Torben Floor, there's the sense that you're listening to arrangements that were honed on the road by a well-oiled band. "Daylight" has a chorus that taps a classic Beatles progression -- the first of many on the disc; the outro of "Shelf Life" has some of the sweetest, most buoyant pop harmonies this side of the Beach Boys; and the title track is a paean to lucid dreaming that served as one of Ott's inspirations. Fact is, whether you're a sucker for pop hooks, good singing or a great pop band, there's little not to like on this record. My guess is "Lucid Dream" will end up on a number of "Top 10" lists for 2006.
www.dualtone.com <http://www.dualtone.com/> .
- Michael Lipton 