S. Carey - Hundred Acres

Rating:

A joyous, delicate album.

On his third full-length outing, S. Carey strips everything away, leaving you to pick up the pieces. The desolation that runs around the delicate instruments and vocals leaves nothing to hide and instead bares all - with absolute heart-wrenching abandon.

‘Hundred Acres’ presents Carey at his most together, with the feeling that each of the tracks were chosen to represent a different aspect of his strengths through a forced pairing. For example, the impossibly quick-picked guitars of ‘Hideout’ standout when compared to the slow, pounding beat of ‘Emery’. It’s these juxtapositions that lend themselves to Carey’s angelic vocals, which never feel forced.

With the addition of atmospheric strings, piano and just about anything else you can think of, it’s impossible not to get sucked into this beautiful and tormented world of Carey’s. It’s not all gentle picking though, ‘More I See’ goes for a triumphant sound that carries you away. With all the rich niceness that envelopes you, it's a testament to Carey’s flawless vocal performance.

'Hundred Acres' is a joyous, delicate album that cements S. Carey’s consistent strength in songwriting. Steven Loftin