New album from Until They Burn Me

Until They Burn Me is the musical duo of lifelong collaborators Cody Carlyle and Travis Jordan, two musicians whose creative partnership spans over three decades. Based in the USA, the pair originally cut their teeth together in the band The Dry Season before formally reuniting in 2021 under their new moniker. With Until They Burn Me, they’ve forged a darkly poetic fusion of Americana, folk, punk and roots music that feels at once timeless and fiercely original. Their songs glide through murder ballads, garage grit and haunting country storytelling, offering a cinematic approach to American songwriting.

Their debut album, Mud Music, arrived last October as a distillation of that ethos, a record born from the simple idea to make the type of music they themselves would want to hear. Over the course of three years, the project took shape without a prescribed direction or genre, gradually morphing into a dense, textured cocktail of dark folktales and rustic mysticism. It was an epic introduction, full of grit, melody, and story-focused context that put Until They Burn Me on the map of must watch musical acts.

Now, Until They Burn Me return with their sophomore record titled A Carnival of Reveries, an album that expands their sound into something both dreamlike and dangerous. The record perfectly captures the duo’s ability to blend grit and imagination with a cinematic aesthetic, resulting in a soundtrack to a world that flickers between beauty and madness.

Kicked off by “Dark & Deep,” the patter of drums ushers in a smokey Americana scene where shuffling grooves and lively harmonica set up smooth vocal leads which brush over the immersive arrangement to cast a transportive soundscape. With picture painting lyricism delivered via memorable melodic writing, the song rolls with pulsing bass lines and bouncy rhythms cut with intricate lead instrumental flourishes to bring the listener straight into the world of Until They Burn Me.

“To the Bone” follows with a downtempo waltz of lilting rhythmic sway as hushed vocals hover above the stripped back instrumentation. Softly plucked notes and subtly dark vibes form an engaging sound that offers another super display of the band’s gripping storytelling output. “Licorice & Lollipops” brings the hop of twanging guitar lines and warm brass elements as quietly intense vocals ring out above, flowing with overlapping vocalisations and slick instrumental flashes on a song that drifts through moments of dreamy bliss.

Other highlights on the record include songs like “Night Passage of Painted Dog” with its hazy country sound of steady rhythmic march and acoustic guitar textures. Serving up an engrossing instrumental piece that builds throughout, it’s a stellar moment on the album that’s moody and mesmeric in equal measure. The jangly guitar tones and rustling drum on “Revealed to Him in the Wild” then provides an emotive experience where tender vocals float above the enveloping arrangement which develops with stunning violin leads and brooding atmosphere.

On “The Golden Motel Room,” the brush of percussion and misty sound of airy guitars are met by dark spoken word style vocals, offering another slice of the band’s spellbinding sound. Closing the record with “Josef K,” the lively jump of uptempo rhythms are capped by expressive vocals to create an invigorating finale of catchy punk-inflected alternative folk music, perfectly concluding Until They Burn Me sensational second album.

Listen to A Carnival of Reveries below