carbonfour: about>reviews

The Illinois Entertainer
CARBONFOUR /Why Your Eyes No Longer Shine (2006)

The opening track on Carbonfour?s second effort, Why Your Eyes No Longer Shine, evokes The Fixx with an emphasis on atmospheric keyboards and ringing guitars. But the band, led by singer Nels Stromborg, goes beyond that. The melodic ?The Box You Made For Me? features Stromborg?s evocative vocals and guitarist Ian Scott?s inventive strumming. Two piano-based tunes add to Carbonfour?s highly polished approach. (www.carbonfourmusic.com)
? Terrence Flamm

The MusicBox, August 2002, Volume 9, #8:
CARBONFOUR / MATTER OF PHYSICS Written by T.J. Simon
(available at www.musicbox-online.com/cf-phys.html)

Once in a blue moon, every music fan comes across a new band with a release that hits the proverbial sweet spot of brilliant tunes, artful instrumentation, emotive singing, and thoughtful lyrics that speaks directly to his or her soul. A disc of that nature can be so good that it?s hard to remove it from the CD player much less the jukebox inside one?s head. Lately my inner nickelodeon can?t seem to shake the sounds of a relatively unknown band from Chicago called Carbonfour.

Carbonfour is a young power pop group centered around the keyboards and vocals of Nels Stromborg and the guitar of Andy Kamm. A Matter of Physics, the band?s debut album, is one of those remarkable releases that sounds great on the first listen and just gets better with the passage of time. Stromburg?s voice is rich, soulful, and unique ? think Eddie Vedder-meets-Roland Orzabal-meets-Ed Kowalcyzk. Kamm?s guitar is evocative of early U2, and his power chords mesh nicely with Stromburg?s keyboards to produce a layered sonic landscape on each finely-crafted song. The only gripe with this otherwise solid album is that the piano often gets lost in the mix due to the guitar-focused production. But in the grand scheme of things, this serves as a relatively minor distraction.

A Matter of Physics is relatively short (by today?s bloated standards) for a debut album, with only eight tracks spanning just under thirty minutes. Yet, each of those songs is a real gem, starting with the emotional Most Of, a U2-sounding cut that builds to a crescendo before winding down to a pretty piano solo. Lyrically, the strongest number is Pretentious Yet Lame, a powerfully written indictment of self-pity with colorful imagery and a haunting melody. In addition, Carbonfour pays homage to the Tears for Fears songbook with Bullet and the disc?s finest cut White Flags and Radio Waves. In these tunes, Stromburg sings about emotional distance over Kamm?s distinctive acoustic guitar and studio-layered vocals.

Carbonfour also has solid live chops as evidenced by a recent set at Chicago?s MOB (Music Over Business) Fest that left the amazed audience begging for more. It would be nice to mine the depths of a rich catalog filled with hidden treasure indie discs, but A Matter of Physics is currently the only Carbonfour album on the market. It?s a helluva intro to a band that seems to have a lot to say. While most groups go through entire careers without releasing anything as good as this disc, these guys nailed it on the first shot. Give it a buy, and you?ll have no regrets.

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2 Walls Web Zine

CARBONFOUR A Matter Of Physics (2002) written by Michael Walls 9/15/03
(available at www.2walls.com)

Sometimes I can get overly excited about a newly discovered indie band, anxious to tell the world what I have uncovered, only to realize later that I?m late to the party. Such was the case when I reviewed The Soundtrack of our Lives ? finding out late in my research that they were nominated for a grammy.

So when Carbonfour?s A Matter of Physics started ringing in my ears only after one listen ? I decided to do some thorough research this time ? lest I find out they?re touring with U2.

The good news is that Carbonfour is a bunch of nobodies from Chicago. Rather, good news for me, because now I can write whatever I want without the fear of failure by comparison. I?m sure Carbonfour doesn?t think of themselves as nobodies ? yet I was hard pressed to find much detailed info, less even a photo of the band. Yes, they have a website ? but it is lacking in that typical narcissistic way of most band websites, inundated with band press photos and gig snapshots. Maybe they?re camera shy, maybe they?re all hideously ugly. Or maybe Carbonfour is only interested in playing music.

The music is certainly the reason I?m writing this. This is guitar-driven power-pop with sensational keyboards, sometimes funky, sometimes smooth ? all led by the powerful vocals of keyboardist Nels Stromborg. Reminiscent of Tears for Fears, where the music is thick and powerful, the vocals swirling and layered, and the melodies dark and addictive. This isn?t simple pop ditties with sharp hooks. These songs require some time, some appreciative listening.

A Matter of Physics is a relatively short, 8 song CD, but there are no filler tunes here. On two tracks, ?Crack? and ?We Make Believe?, Stromborg?s vocals bare an eerie similarity to Matt Johnson of The The. ?Crack? is my favorite tune, with it?s funky, growling vocal style, guitarist Ian Scott doing a Johnny Marr impersonation, and the outstanding funky keyboard ending. Love it.

?White Flags and Radio Waves? is also one of the standout tracks, and I?m not sure whether it?s coincidence, my imagination or intentional, but I can?t listen to this song without thinking about Roger Waters. I might need to break out my Radio K.A.O.S. cassette.

A Matter of Physics is a 2002 release, so I may have been a bit late to the record release party for this debut CD ? but I?m early to the bandwagon party that will certainly begin to form when Carbonfour starts to reach the masses.

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Richard Milne - WXRT Local Anesthetic

"Carbonfour caught my ear like immediately. This song, Crack, is recorded and arranged so interestingly, just sort a audio surprises gallor, on top of the fact that it is just a good song. If I want to hear audio wallpaper I will put on my Brian Eno records. Your job is to try and catch my ear and Carbonfour succeeded with that"

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Pete Knapp - Shut Eye Records

"Carbonfour's brand of power-pop is a welcome listen here at Shut Eye! The clean vocal lines, the airtight bass and drums and clean-channeled high-gain guitars are substantial elements to the overall sound. "Crack's" subtle urban instrumentation reminds me of cruising Atlanta's highways at dusk, so much that I decided to take a "Matter of Physics" for a spin when I drove to Birmingham, AL on a 4 hour road trip recently. I had the opportunity to listen to your disc several times. "Most of" mixed with the multi-guitar driven verses and choruses stands out as a single all it's own."