JACK CARTY – ONE THOUSAND ORIGAMI BIRDS
As the seemingly finite stretch of yet undiscovered musical territory is earnestly snapped up by hip new combinations of increasingly unlikely styles (most of them involving “indie”), it’s easy to think that many artists have lost sight of the song. But not Jack Carty. While at a glance it appears that Carty isn’t covering any new territory with his debut LP, he is reminding us that the song comes first. Carty counts us in with the title track One Thousand Origami Birds, a soulful finger-picking pillow for his stressed out girl, and one of the highlights of the album. The leading single Hope takes us higher as a rhythm section and a lush Paul Jarman string arrangement propel the heartfelt chorus lyric: “hope don’t leave when we need you, please don’t run away too far too soon…”. The sea-worthy sway of The Tempest lets Carty’s country poetry echo out calmy as we soak in the dulcet reverb of a well-placed electric guitar – a nakedness in production that earns our trust and attention, and keeps it. Jackie Orzacsky, the late godfather of Sydney’s live music scene, said that a good song is one that can be busked; a song that can be stripped to the core, rid of any bells and whistles and still move people. Carty has delivered an album full of these in his first offering; an honest pencil sketch in this gallery of loud pop art.
****
