CAROLYN ALROY: Gorgeous Enormous

Carolyn AlRoy

Gorgeous Enormous

© 2005 Carolyn AlRoy (837101105040)

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A breath of fresh air - familiar but completely original.

notes

Carolyn AlRoy grew up in Princeton, NJ, home of eclectic oddballs and intellectual misfits. She went to Rutgers to study acting, but ended up becoming a poet. She studied with Poet Laureate Robert Pinski, doing readings throughout the New York City area throughout the '90's until she began pursing her doctorate as a licensed psychotherapist and writing songs. "The process of songwriting is similar to therapy,", according to AlRoy. "When I hear patients use unusual language, it makes me stop and ask questions...the language holds something that is not directly expressed, but is tangible". She has a private practice in Manhattan where she helps people with their inner demons during the day before showing off her own in New York clubs by night.

GORGEOUS ENORMOUS is AlRoy's debut album, and is co-produced by singer-songwriter Matt Keating and indie rock producer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah). The album is a breath of fresh air: familiar but completely original. The songs in GORGEOUS ENORMOUS are influenced by artists such as Crowded House and Matthew Sweet. AlRoy's music vacillates between upbeat power-pop numbers with jangly guitars and quietly lilting folk ballads. Featuring an all-star band including drums by Mark Brotter from HEM, bass by Jason Mercer (Ron Sexsmith, Ani DiFranco), and Matt Keating on almost everything else, AlRoy's songs alternately shine with exuberance and melancholy.

From the spaghetti-Western influenced "Reality Song" to the chamber pop extravaganza "Valentines Day," to the grungy "Sound of Revolution," AlRoy's engagingly exquisite voice traverses different genres seamlessly.

Her cover of Helter Skelter ranks up there as one of the best Beatle covers ever with it's subversive take on that 60's classic. It is disturbingly slow and achingly tense; if Charles Manson had heard this one first, he would have never gotten around to killing anybody.

reviews

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  • Gorgeous Enormous is a significant musical work!
    author: S. Choate

    When Alroy asks the rhetorical question Do You Know What I Mean, in the opening number; take it to heart. Look a little closer. The imagery of human emotion at its finest is indeed Gorgeous,just as the silent void of sadness and despair is equally Enormous. The language and the melodies are sewn together seamlessly in a net cast by its creator. Rest assured, all is not lost. Somewhere, Alroy is taking it all in, with a huge, gorgeous enormous shit eating grin! Brilliant!

  • author: david g

    i'm blown away. what a voice. leaves you wanting more.

  • Excellent Debut Release
    author: Greg W.

    Considering the airwaves are awash with bland remakes from the 70s-80s, AlRoy's debut brings new life into otherwise worn-out tunes. Quite frankly, I was floored at AlRoy's diverse choice of covers. It's very daring to put "Helter Skelter" and "You Belong To Me" on the same release -- yet she pulls it off! Bravo to Ms. AlRoy. I wish her much success!

  • this is fucking awesome!!!!!
    author: jimbo

    I'm completely blown away...this record is so great...i'm speechless...Helter Skelter is better than the Beatles version...

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