…tried to escape, LAURA-MARY CARTER Town Called Nothing (single)
Laura-Mary Carter – Town Called Nothing (mini-album) is available at Bandcamp, Velveteen Records, Apple Music.
by Walter Price
Between Phoenix and Las Vegas on Interstate 93, you’ll stumble upon, if ya don’t blink and miss it, a ‘town’ that once was. Now the remnant of a tiny bustling community of outcasts that served as a rest stop for weary travelers during the post-Vietnam days has been reduced to a near-forgotten blip on the map. Except for those of us who dig a great dusty photo op as we ponder what the hell happened.
The recent single, “Town Called Nothing”, from seminal rocker gone solo, Laura-Mary Carter, laments the feelings of hopeful desolation. Backed by haunting guitar licks à la Chris Isaak and enough jangle airiness to please fans of the post-punk era, the lyrics tell the tale of holding on to the last threads of whoever/whatever it is tethering the storyteller.
We carried on down
To the side of this mountain
We couldn’t be sure
We would get to where we were going
I saw many signs
On the way
And in my mind
I tried to escape
But you kept on coming
To this town called nothing
To this town called nothing…
But rather than just use this ghostly desert road stop as the backdrop for this picturesque alt-pop song, Carter uses Nothing, AR as the actual location for this single’s music video. Shot by Carter herself and edited by Ollie Rillands, it has vintage home movie aesthetics blended with archival footage. A film chock-full of undeniable cinematic style and beauty. And, like the track itself, it’s loaded with nostalgia and even palpable sadness as you realize that almost everything, eventually, fades away.
If you’re a fan of Margo Timmins, Hope Sandoval, and/or Grant-Lee Phillips, then get this one onto your favorite you-saw-the-signs playlist…
“Town Called Nothing” is the title track from Carter’s debut solo ‘mini-album’, out now on all your fave platforms.
LAURA-MARY CARTER Town Called Nothing
Artist photo via Bandcamp
Video: Filmed by Laura.Mary Carter & Edited by Ollie Rillands
Produced by Ed Harcourt and Laura-Mary Carter
Engineered by Robbie Nelson at Rak
Additional recording at Brighton Electric by Steven Ansell
Mixed by Ben Hampson
Guitar and voice -Laura-Mary Carter
Drums – Jorma Vik
Piano and bass – Ed Harcourt
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Town Called Nothing Lyrics:
Get in my car
Let’s drive to nowhere
We’ve done this before
And I had this coming
Carried away
By the sound of your voice
But I know now
It’s a state of mind