They’ve made themselves known in the UK with glowing reviews of their astonishing debut in Mojo, Uncut, NME, The Guardian and more, plus raves about their live show as well; now the five-piece known as Erland & The Carnival are ready to make their mark on the US. Guitarist, singer and former resident of remote Orkney, Scotland Erland Cooper, guitarist Simon Tong (The Verve, The Good, The Bad & The Queen) and drummer David Nock (The Orb, Paul McCartney’s The Fireman) will digitally release their US debut, the Trouble in Mind EP, October 19th on Yep Roc/Full Time Hobby. Together, they produce a sound described by Tong as, “Pentangle meets Ennio Morricone meets Love meets 13th Floor Elevators meets Joe Meek.” In other words: folk-tinged, psyched up, fuzzed-out brilliance. It’s a sound that has immediate appeal, despite the depth of its content.

In the grand folk tradition, The Carnival see literary and musical source material as something to be adapted, tinkered with, updated and blown apart. This new EP finds the band doing so with intelligence and grace. Take “Love Is A Killing Thing” for instance – it’s based on a traditional folk song collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, but updated with a new bridge and a chorus from a Seeger/MacColl song. “Trouble in Mind” was loosely started as a blues track collected by Alan Lomax, though the shape of the finished song is unrecognizable from its source. The band added their own melody and lyrics, and even borrowed words from Bruce Springsteen’s “My Father’s House”, and inspiration from the Daphne Du Maurier book/Alfred Hitchcock film, Rebecca.

Listen toa sample track off of Trouble in Mind: “Trouble in Mind”

Not just lauded for their brilliance on record, Erland & The Carnival put on a striking live show, and they’ll be treating New Yorkers to a taste of this in November; check out a sneak peek.

Erland & The Carnival Play New York

• Wed. Nov. 3 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge w/ Villagers
• Fri. Nov. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rock Shop
• Sun. Nov. 7 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre w/ Paul Weller

“a debut of psychedelic flourishes, pop hooks and melodies that have been the bedrock of folk music for centuries. . . proof of where a combination of knowledge and inspiration can take you.” – Will Hodgkinson, MOJO

“Following the grass-and-daisy-strewn path that Fairport Convention and Pentangle once moseyed, Erland (Cooper) and his Carnival (which includes ex-Verve man Simon Tong), have created a pastoral, psych-tinged slice of loveliness for their debut.” – Tessa Harris, NME

“they have an undeniable allure.” – Kitty Empire, The Observer

“Erland And The Carnival is an exquisite update of the classic folk-rock sound of the late ‘60s, full of dark and lovely covers and originals starring tramps, carnivals, Derby Rams and death. . . it’s the gently psychedelic guitars, keyboards and ghostly harmonies that beguile.” – Garry Mulholland, Q

“this is primarily a great rock album. It invokes countless familiar sources – The Byrds, Ennio Morricone, The La’s, The Doors, Joe Meek – but reassembles them in such an unexpected way that 500-year-old songs ound utterly fresh.” – John Lewis, Uncut

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