The Caribbean (band)
Encyclopedia
The Caribbean is an American
experimental pop group from Washington, D.C.
, primarily composed of Michael Kentoff, Matthew Byars and Dave Jones. The band has been critically acclaimed for its deconstructionist approach to pop music, its wry, literary lyrics, and its eclectic sound, which incorporates elements of American pop
, indie rock
and experimental rock
, cool jazz
, folk music
, lounge music
, and even Brazilian music.
indie rock
and post-punk
acts the Townies and Smart Went Crazy
. Townies singer-guitarist Michael Kentoff and drummer-guitarist Matthew Byars joined Smart Went Crazy drummer Tony Dennison and began writing and arranging new songs to record.
The recording collective grew in 2001 with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Don Campbell, which allowed it to tour for the first time as a group. For the most part, The Caribbean remained a recording collective as its members spanned Maryland
, Florida
, Minnesota
, and Kentucky
. Since 2004, all of their records have been mixed by producer/engineer/songwriter Chad Clark (Smart Went Crazy, Beauty Pill
). The Caribbean’s records eventually found release on Endearing Records
, Germany
’s Tomlab
, and, later, respected underground imprint Hometapes. Western Australian experimental label Hidden Shoal releases The Caribbean’s less pop-song-oriented music, including a 2009 remix of the group's 2007 album, Populations, by producer/engineer Scott Solter
(who has worked with John Vanderslice
, Okkervil River
, Fred Frith
, and The Mountain Goats
).
Guitar player Dave Jones joined in 2004 and the group again toured as a quartet until Campbell departed for graduate school in 2006. The trio of Kentoff, Byars, and Jones have stabilized as the main touring concern since then, with Campbell and Dennison still active in recordings."
The group has toured the United States
and Canada
extensively, including at respected North American
music festivals such as South by Southwest
, CMJ Music Marathon
, Toronto
’s North by Northeast
and The Denver Post
’s Underground Music Showcase.
The band's most recent album, Discontinued Perfume, received high praise from Pitchfork Media
, with the reviewer stating: "It’s as though the band had all the pieces for comfortable indie pop in its possession but no interest in putting them into a standard order. This is of course what makes them interesting. They are bound to confound your expectations several times on any given album, and if you’re into that, they’re good enough at putting these weird songs together that they can pull you in with surprising ease."
In addition, the record received a 9/10 from PopMatters
, wherein the review stated, "They walk out of step with prevailing pop-culture trends and fashions. Yet they’re making some of the most interesting and multi-faceted music that exists right now. Operating on the fringes, they’re nonetheless capturing essential dilemmas of our time, and doing so through the musical equivalents of quandaries, rumors, and whispers. To the band, the listener, the songs’ characters, and the instruments themselves, Discontinued Perfume is an exciting exercise in unlocking the puzzle that is the world around us."
Over the past few years, The Caribbean has garnered further positive press in The Washington Post
, The Washington City Paper, Magnet
, Tiny Mix Tapes
, Uncut (UK), The Denver Post
, Flak, Stylus
, Harp Magazine, and Signal to Noise
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
experimental pop group from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, primarily composed of Michael Kentoff, Matthew Byars and Dave Jones. The band has been critically acclaimed for its deconstructionist approach to pop music, its wry, literary lyrics, and its eclectic sound, which incorporates elements of American pop
American pop
American pop is a vague and nebulous term, applied generally to whatever form of music is most popular among mainstream American teenage audiences. Adolescents are an especially important audience, both because of their relatively large amount of discretionary spending, and their fervent devotion...
, indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
, cool jazz
Cool jazz
Cool is a style of modern jazz music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop style that preceded it...
, folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, lounge music
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
, and even Brazilian music.
History
Formed in 1999, The Caribbean began as a songwriting and recording project between members of Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
acts the Townies and Smart Went Crazy
Smart Went Crazy
Smart Went Crazy was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. that recorded two albums, Now We're Even and Con Art, on the D.C. Dischord Records label. Ex-members of the band continued to play and record music in other D.C. bands such as Faraquet, Beauty Pill....
. Townies singer-guitarist Michael Kentoff and drummer-guitarist Matthew Byars joined Smart Went Crazy drummer Tony Dennison and began writing and arranging new songs to record.
The recording collective grew in 2001 with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Don Campbell, which allowed it to tour for the first time as a group. For the most part, The Caribbean remained a recording collective as its members spanned Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Since 2004, all of their records have been mixed by producer/engineer/songwriter Chad Clark (Smart Went Crazy, Beauty Pill
Beauty Pill
Beauty Pill is a shapeshifting post-rock band from Washington, DC based around the songs and ideas of singer/guitarist/producer Chad Clark.Beauty Pill's music is characterized by cinematic arrangements, sinuous melodies, and electronic textures and treatments. This detailed, atmospheric aesthetic...
). The Caribbean’s records eventually found release on Endearing Records
Endearing Records
Endearing Records is a Canadian independent record label established in 1994, now based in Vancouver, originally based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Endearing Records has released many albums by Canadian indie artists since the mid 90s, such as Destroyer, The Meligrove Band, Julie Doiron, The...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
’s Tomlab
Tomlab
Tomlab is a German record label based in Köln. It has released works by bands such as The Books, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Deerhoof, Thee Oh Sees, Les Georges Leningrad, and acts associated with Blocks Recording Club, such as Final Fantasy, Ninja High School, and The Hank...
, and, later, respected underground imprint Hometapes. Western Australian experimental label Hidden Shoal releases The Caribbean’s less pop-song-oriented music, including a 2009 remix of the group's 2007 album, Populations, by producer/engineer Scott Solter
Scott Solter
Scott Solter is a recording engineer, record producer, mixer, remixer and musician. As a producer and mixer, Solter has worked with numerous indie rock artists, including John Vanderslice, Superchunk, Okkervil River, The Mountain Goats, Erik Friedlander, The Balustrade Ensemble, Pattern is...
(who has worked with John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice is an American musician and songwriter. Previously a member of the band Mk Ultra, he now records and performs as a solo artist.-Early years:...
, Okkervil River
Okkervil River
Okkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. They self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first...
, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, and The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
).
Guitar player Dave Jones joined in 2004 and the group again toured as a quartet until Campbell departed for graduate school in 2006. The trio of Kentoff, Byars, and Jones have stabilized as the main touring concern since then, with Campbell and Dennison still active in recordings."
The group has toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
extensively, including at respected North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
music festivals such as South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
, CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
’s North by Northeast
North by Northeast
North by Northeast is an annual five-day live music and film festival and music conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, held each June....
and The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
’s Underground Music Showcase.
The band's most recent album, Discontinued Perfume, received high praise from Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, with the reviewer stating: "It’s as though the band had all the pieces for comfortable indie pop in its possession but no interest in putting them into a standard order. This is of course what makes them interesting. They are bound to confound your expectations several times on any given album, and if you’re into that, they’re good enough at putting these weird songs together that they can pull you in with surprising ease."
In addition, the record received a 9/10 from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, wherein the review stated, "They walk out of step with prevailing pop-culture trends and fashions. Yet they’re making some of the most interesting and multi-faceted music that exists right now. Operating on the fringes, they’re nonetheless capturing essential dilemmas of our time, and doing so through the musical equivalents of quandaries, rumors, and whispers. To the band, the listener, the songs’ characters, and the instruments themselves, Discontinued Perfume is an exciting exercise in unlocking the puzzle that is the world around us."
Over the past few years, The Caribbean has garnered further positive press in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, The Washington City Paper, Magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
, Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...
, Uncut (UK), The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
, Flak, Stylus
Stylus
A stylus is a writing utensil, or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example in pottery. The word is also used for a computer accessory . It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styli are heavily curved to be held more easily...
, Harp Magazine, and Signal to Noise
Signal to Noise
Signal to Noise is a graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. It was originally serialised in the UK style magazine The Face, beginning in 1989, and collected as a graphic novel in 1992, published by Victor Gollancz Ltd in the UK and by Dark Horse Comics in the US.The...
.
Albums
- Verse By Verse (Endearing, 2001)
- History’s First Know-It-All (Tomlab/Endearing, 2003)
- Plastic Explosives (Hometapes, 2005)
- Populations (Hometapes, 2007)
- Discontinued Perfume (Hometapes, 2011)
Singles and EPs
- The Caribbean (Little Voice, 1999)
- William of Orange (Hometapes, 2004)
- The Go from Tactical/The Beverly Boys (Hometapes, 2007)
- The 65 Cent Dinner/Tonight, It's Over (Scioto, 2011)
External links
- Official band website http://www.thecaribbeanisaband.com
- Hometapes website http://www.home-tapes.com/Hometapes/The_Caribbean.html
- Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Caribbean/140326008798