Critic's Choice: Carbon Choir plays the hi-dive on January 20

With the 2009 release of High Beams, Carbon Choir (due at the hi-dive this Friday, January 20) showed promise with a set of introspective, heartfelt songs rimmed with layers of impressionistic, melodic flickers of sound. As Joel Van Horne's vocals soar over the top of the instrumentation, he shows an...

By Tom Murphy

January 17, 2012

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With the 2009 release of High Beams, Carbon Choir (due at the hi-dive this Friday, January 20) showed promise with a set of introspective, heartfelt songs rimmed with layers of impressionistic, melodic flickers of sound. As Joel Van Horne's vocals soar over the top of the instrumentation, he shows an impressive command of tone, and the power of his emotional resonance is equally compelling. But this band doesn't weave together abstract music performed with a sense of detachment: A Carbon Choir show is a visceral experience, precisely because these guys play their music not like they're trying to get you to remember some experience of a long time ago, but to get you to experience something new, right here and now.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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