Reviews

"There are places in the world where Michael Carpenter can barely walk down the street without being mobbed by
fans of masterfully-crafted power pop. His native Australia is, however, not one of them. In a perfect world, of course,
'Up Close' would change all that. There are many reasons why this album is a summer must-have: It's full of jangly pop songs
with the sort of rich harmonies that should have fans of everyone from The Byrds and The Beatles to Teenage Fanclub and
The Posies nodding their heads in appreciation. It kicks off with Kailee Ann, which is one of the most perfect pop songs of
recent years (even if Believes Again repeats its guitar solo) and has gorgeous tracks of the calibre of the lush In On Me and
You Won't See peppered throughout. It has exemplary production values, with enough space to allow the songs to breathe,
and even if the lyrics tend toward rhyming love/above and girl/world (You Were The One being one such), they're delivered
with such conviction (and often four part harmony) that it barely matters. What's more, it was originally released on the way-cool
US indie Not Lame, one of the most accurately-titled labels in the world, before being issued locally with bonus tracks by
Laughing Outlaw. Perhaps it's not something that you've never heard before - All I Want sounds disturbingly Eagles-esque,
for example - but rarely is it done so well. In a perfect world, this album would be blaring from every car stereo
this summer. It's not too late to make that happen. Andrew P Street."
Review by db Magazine (Adelaide - Jan 14, 2002)

 

MICHAEL CARPENTER
Up Close
(Laughing Outlaw)
Songs of innocence, songs of love

"It helps to have, or to fake, a sense of innocence if you play powerpop that has its roots in the first half of the '60s.
You need the wistfulness of the boy who is sure, when he falls in love, it will be forever and the brio of the teen who sees
nothing but blue skies and open doors ahead. Sydney's Michael Carpenter has innocence in spades. While not
necessarily a collection of the best songs you'll hear this year, his CD Up Close bursts with the love and innocent
energy that characterises the best guitar pop. If anything, this album (compiled from two albums previously released
overseas, with a stack of new tracks) is like a beginners' class in the first decade of pop/rock. You begin with Buddy Holly
in the opening track, Kailee Ann, move through the Everly Brothers in the sweet teen romance of Love Is Like ...
to early beat bands in the mop-top shaking Thinking About You. The next track, the harmony-rich Hopefulness
combines the Zombies with the young Beach Boys. Later there are nods to the Beatles, Badfinger territory
(ie, amped-up Paul McCartney) and Tom Petty, too, (as well as a Petty cover among the extra tracks). Naturally, there
are harmonies everywhere, layers of guitars and plenty of chances to go "ooh" in unison. Sometimes the fact that
the multi-instrumentalist Carpenter has his own studio and plenty of time means he over eggs a pudding or two but - what t
t he hey - he's having a ball and you can too. "
Review by Bernard Zuel (The Sydney Morning Herald - Dec 16, 2001)

 

Michael Carpenter - Album - "Up Close" (Laughing Outlaw Records, 2002)****/5

Laughing Outlaw Records are Australia's self styled "premier power pop and alt country label," and if the description itself doesn't entice you enough, then the second album from Sydney born singer-songwriter Michael Carpenter should. "Up Close" is a wonderfully comprehensive collection of nineteen tracks drenched in Beach Boys type harmonies, wonderful riffs and shiny chord changes. From the outset, tracks like the opening "Kailee Ann" evoke the likes of Fountains of Wayne and Cotton Mather more than anything, with self-deprecating lyrics and hooks that wrap themselves tightly around you within seconds. There’s even hints of ELO with some masterly Jeff Lynne type chord changes and harmonies. That's not to say it's all powerpop, as the range of instruments involved in the album attests to - everything from 6 and 12 string guitars to harmonica to organ to, er, car horn - but it's when he's at his most simple with songs like "Love is Like..." or "Love So Strong" (note the common theme) that he works best. Special note must be given to the cover of Tom Petty's "King's Highway" which is equally as good as the original - and if you've ever heard Petty's version, you'll know that's praise indeed. Incredibly strong melodies, and, let's face it, incredibly fucking cool. Yet another early contender for the end of year charts already... damn it. MW
Americana UK website

 

MICHAEL CARPENTER - (Up Close; Laughing Outlaw)
Even though Michael himself says that it’s too early for a compilation, I say it’s never too early for any of his albums, especially when you consider the fact that it’s actually his debut in his native Australia, so it’s more kinda late after already two releases in the States. There’s nothing revolutionary about these songs but he’s just so damn good at combining the best fragments of his (and ours!) record collections that it makes the “where-have-I-already-heard-this?” question hang in the air all the time. Heavenly vocal harmonies and crystal clean production are the main ingredients of this collection that opens with three glorious melody-explosions. “Kailee-Ann” is a Costello-meets-The Beach Boys-with-a-Fanclub-middle-eight tune, which is followed by “Love is like” combining a folky-pop arrangement with a nice Kyle Vincent-ertainment stuck in the middle eight and then, there’s “Thinking about you”, Carpenter’s ultimate audio statement, giving you the best possible reason to become a pop junkie. Of course, besides such a grandiose opening, your ears won’t be left to rest cuz soon they’ll be full of “big stars” of “Love so strong”, rawking “hindu times” of “Changes”, pumping Hofner “maccaronies” and “byrds” flying all over “She dreams” and there’s also a ray of electric light turned on by the Lynnear production of “Believes again”. Besides the tracks from the two regular albums “Up close” is enrichened with a mixture of seven unreleased/cover/remixed track which makes it a must no matter if you’re already familiar or not with the opus of Michael Carpenter.
POPISM radio show. Yugoslavia.

 

Michael Carpenter – Up Close

I’ve read a lot about Michael on some pop boards but until now, never heard any of his music. Man, what I have been missing! I liken this guy to some sort of pop sponge, where at any moment his music ranges from late 60s hard edged Beatles/Beach Boys pop, 70s AM Gold radio pop to 80s new wave skinny tie power pop. And it’s all GOOD. I mean REALLY GOOD. Featuring twelve tracks from his two studio releases along with six bonus tracks (actually eight as two are uncredited), this has easily moved into rank as one of my favorite discs of all time. Intelligent, melodic, harmonic…what more could one ask for?

and..

I had been hearing great reports about our next artist Australia's Micheal
Carpenter so I sent him an email and got a reply from the U.K branch of his
record company that is based in my home town of Chester. Small world? You
betcha! With the CD "Up Close" firmly in my grasp I gave it a few spins and
found it to be power-pop of the highest order. Originally signed to Not Lam e
Records this CD is a compilation of his two albums for that label with the
added incentive of six bonus tracks. It's plainly obvious that Micheal
worships at the alter of all things Beatles and especially John Lennon. You
can also find influences from the likes of the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello
and a host of others that inhabit this field of music. It is one of the
strongest albums of it's type that I have heard and when you get to hear the
likes of "Kailee Ann", "Hopefulness" and the majestic "Thinking About You" I
think that you too will agree that this is an album to be treasured. To find
out more go to www.laughingoutlaw.com.au
Powerplay Magazine

 

Michael Carpenter :
Up Close
This review could so easily be one of the shortest ever; Brilliant.
Power Pop. Buy It. But I guess that is not enough, not for an album so full of such timeless, melodic powerful sounds as this.
Michael Carpenter's third album is released on Laughing Outlaw Records, who claim to be Australia's Premier Power Pop and
Alternative Country Label. There is no argument there, as this falls neatly into the power pop genre.

Strictly speaking, it's not Carpenter's third album but a compilation of some of the tracks from his previous two albums, 'Hopefulness' and 'Baby' which were released in the USA on the Not Lame label. But if you are smart enough to already own both of those, this is still worth purchasing as Laughing Outlaw have added six (although we will return to that later) extra tracks which are worth the price of this album on their own.

The problem with a lot of so-called power pop records is that they lack the melodies that define the classic power pop sound. There is no such problem, however, with this release. Full of harmonies, chiming guitars and a bright production, these songs really highlight
Michael's knack of writing irresistible melodies. This is one of those records which make you feel good to be alive
even if it is pouring down with rain on a boring Sunday. It is also released at a perfect time of year; just in time for summer.
It is strange that Michael is not more widely known and respected, and we can only hope that this release will go some way to changing that. Apart from producing and engineering every track on this album, Michael is also a multi-instrumentalist and plays the drums, bass, keyboards and guitars on it.

To start with the bonus tracks, although only six are listed on the sleeve, there are actually eight. After the 'proper' album ends with
track 12 we get Michael singing an introduction to the bonus tracks. All the vocals on this track are sung by Michael and even though it was probably put in as a light hearted joke by him, it still stands head and shoulders above most of the other songs I've heard lately
masquerading as power pop. Far from being a throwaway interlude I'm sure that Brian Wilson would be proud of these harmonies. The other uncredited track is a version of 'Thinking About You' which appears in a different form as track 3 on the album. The bonus version is an acoustic version with the harmonies more to the fore in the chorus. It just highlights how Michael's songs can be put in a different setting and still sound good.

Kicking off the album with 'Kailee Ann', from the 'Hopefulness' album, Michael plays all the instruments and his only accompaniment
is from Lachlan Williams and Paul Hakim on backing vocals. It's a perfect introduction to Michael's music. To those not familiar with
the man's talents, doubt would probably set in as to whether this standard can be kept up over the next 11 tracks but it does and with
ease. To prove it, the less upbeat, but no less exhilarating,'Love Is LikeS', from the 'Baby' album is another power pop classic. That's
not a word which should be used lightly, but classic could be used to describe every song here.
Comparisons have been made to the classic 'B' groups of the sixties, the Beatles, Beach Boys and the Byrds, and also to newer bands like The Posies and Teenage Fanclub. Fair enough, I guess, but even a Beatles compilation couldn't get near this collection. Traces of all those bands can be found here but Michael is no clone. His harmonies would move anyone who loves the Beach Boys and the use of 12 string guitars brings to mind the Byrds, but remember that for the most part Michael is playing, singing, producing and engineering all of this on his own with the exception of some backing vocals (which, incidentally, are also outstanding) and some guitar parts. With the exception of Brian Wilson (and can he play guitar like Michael?), is any single musician from any of the bands Michael is compared too capable of this? I doubt it.

Even the ballads like, 'You Won't See', 'Missing You Now' and 'She Dreams', are so melodic, full of hooks and ride along on chiming
guitars they also conjure up that happy, summery feeling.As said earlier, the bonus tracks don't disappoint and are all up to the standard set by the songs on Michael's previous albums. The worry was that maybe the best of those two albums were used to form the main body of this release and the bonus tracks, as is so often the case, were merely songs that were not felt good enough to make it onto an album in the first place and so would not be up to scratch. No worries, in fact, one wonders how the Hell the outstanding ballad, 'You Were The One', could remain unreleased until now. The only track not self-composed here is Gene Clark's 'That's Alright By Me', which appeared on the former Byrds' vocalist's tribute album 'Full Circle'. Maybe that is where the best comparison can be made, the songs of Michael Carpenter are easily as good as those composed by this under-rated Byrd member. As it was Clark who wrote all of that band's best early material that is no small commendation, believe me.

So to finish as I started, if you have just a passing interest in power pop then buy this and be totally converted. If power pop is
already your main thing then you'll have this already, right?