Indie Light

Carousel Clouds are a Salford based band whose music blends shoegaze and Psychedelic. If you’d like to find out a little bit more about the band, then you can click here to check out out interview. We’ve also covered the band before on Indie Light and you can click here to read more. Today, I’ll be reviewing their EP ‘Shake Shake’ which was released October 27th 2023.

‘Shake Shake’ opens with some sensational guitar that flows into some soulful and melancholic vocals that just capture you and refuse to let go. I love that you become so enraptured in the vocals and the initial guitar, you almost don’t notice the fleshing out of the melody, the tight, energy filled percussion and the steady and vibrant bass infusing into, and at times taking over, creating a richly textured audio that just blew me away. I’ll admit that because of personal things and an ever increasing influx of music in my inbox Carousel Clouds fell off my radar, but if this first track is anything to go by, then this EP has firmly secured them in my mind going forward. 

‘The Drums’ opens up surprisingly not just with drums, but a frenzied full instrumental melody, that fades out to a simpler instrumental backing, light guitars and percussion, perfectly supporting the awesome vocals, and again I have to specifically mention how much I like the singers voice, he emotes really well, and really draws you in as a listener. He is by no means the only bright spot on the EP however, the track flows forward, going from light, to heavy, creating an impressive musical performance, the guitars towards the end, especially backed up by rhythmic percussive elements were phenomenal, just raw and powerful. 

‘Always Talking’ opens a little differently, electronic vibes, and a strong percussive beat, a nice dark energy to the track, and the vocals match up really well. Overall it’s a touch slower than the previous two entries on this EP, but it still has a lot of power, the bass especially, alongside the guitar really creates a rich melody beneath the vocals. I really enjoyed this track, in fact, while it was a crazily close choice, I think this one might have snagged the top slot, my personal favourite track on the whole EP, and believe me it was difficult because there were no weak entries of this release. 

‘Skin and Bones’ opens with light acoustic guitar, a softer, slower melody that is joined very quickly by more of those engaging vocals. I really like the performer’s voice, his cadence and emotional delivery really work, and you just get sucked into the song. I liked the more casual vibe of this track, the fact that it was live, meant there were improvisational and unique elements you wouldn’t normally get with a studio recording, and that adds charm and additional depth. Overall, it was a strong closer to a great EP, and I look forward to hearing more from the band in the future. 

So that’s what I thought of Carousel Clouds EP ‘Shake Shake’ and if you want to check that out for yourself then head on over to Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure and show support for the band by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.