Western New York-based emo-shoegaze band Carpool released their debut album I Think Everyone’s A Cop last September. The album consists of seven energy-filled tracks, each of them tied together by a harsh guitar line and twinkly harmonics. If Third Eye Blind and Prince Daddy & The Hyena had a love child, it would be Carpool. The band’s lineup consists of Chris Colasanto on Vox/Guitar, Tommy Eckerson on Vox/Guitar, Milo Duhn on Bass/Vox, and Alec Westover on Drums. The band is currently based between Buffalo, NY and Rochester, NY as Chris and Tommy live in Rochester and Milo and Alec live near Buffalo.
Track One:
The first track off of ITEAC is called “Cigarette Cough”. It starts out lo-fi and slow, eventually picking up the tempo and becoming slightly heavy.
“Sunday morning
Buffalo again
can’t believe I
lost my only friend”
Track Two:
Transitioning beautifully into track two, “Another Song About Rachel” begins. A similar feel to the first song, track two picks up a bit with that classic, dreamy, Carpool guitar line. As Chris’ soft vocals are backed by beautiful harmonies, the song speeds up and becomes the full summer bop it was meant to be.
“All I want is you to be with me,
tangled making love and listening to Morrissey
The way that it should be.”
Track Three:
Bringing the tempo back down to a consistent speed is “Stay”, the third track on the album. This track is fun and full of energy, a song you’d play in the car on a warm summer’s day with the windows down. Though it’s one of the longer songs on the album, the lyrics to this song are very minimal. Having few lyrics, it allows for the focus to be on the instrumentals and production.
“I wouldn’t mind.
If you would just stay here.
I’d nevermind.
I wish that you would stay.”
Track Four:
Track four, “Local Joke”, is an anthem for the kids who never escaped their hometowns- who got stuck where they grew up and watched their friends move on. “Local Joke” is one of the faster and energetic songs on I Think Everyone’s A Cop, making it undoubtedly one of the top bangers off the album.
“Looks like we’re stuck around here
Looks like I’m the local joke
I fucking hate last year
And everyone knows I’m broke”
Track Five:
The song we’ve all been waiting for, “Idaho” is track number five off ITEAC. With over 10k streams on Spotify, “Idaho” is their most popular hit. “Idaho” is the climax of the album, with relatable lyrics and a riff that won’t leave our heads. Carpool’s only current music video is one for “Idaho” on Youtube, which wasn’t released until May of this year. In the music video, a friend of the band drinks a gallon of milk with cigarette butts inside- and thus cig milk was born.
“Take me back to Idaho
Back when I was living low
and not
Highkey
I thought I told you so
That I just wanna drink and smoke for free”
Tracks Six and Seven:
The album wraps up with “Close Encounters of The Sexual Kind” and “I Think Me And Drake Would Be Friends”. Close Encounters slows the album down again, acting as the sad song relief after energetic track five. Being the angstier song on the record, Close Encounters reminisces on a lost lover and the realization that things can never go back to the way they were in the relationship.
“Been watching Netflix on mute
got Boyz II Men on repeat
I know it could never be the same
if you came back to me
But I still want a blueberry swisher sweet
Cracked down the middle preferably”
“I Think Me And Drake Would Be Friends” closes out the album with an incredible combination of every song up to this point. The vocals get heavier and lean into the screaming realm, with the instrumentals transitioning from high to low frequently & beautifully.
“I know you sold your soul for this
I know you sold your soul
My greed outweighs my conscience
Validate my convictions
Sanitate your suspicions
validating
that I’m a hypocrite with all my contradictions”
Carpool is currently signed to Old Press Records and is gearing up to release their second album sometime next year. The band is set to head out on a mini-tour with Summerbruise and Two-Point Conversion this fall. Following their time on the mini-tour, Carpool is going to perform at The Fest FL this year. The band recently uploaded footage on Instagram of a recent performance at Bug Jar in Rochester. In the caption, the band announced that they have a big announcement coming at the end of this week- and we’re definitely excited.
Follow along with all of Carpool’s shenanigans and cig milk foolery on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Bandcamp, and carpoolny.com
Join the cigarette milk of carpool and cali cuzns Facebook group while you’re at it!
I Think Everyone’s A Cop is available for stream or purchase on Spotify and Bandcamp.
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