When I first heard the infectious “Murderous Joy” from Carter Tanton’s Freeclouds, his voice sounded very familiar. Turns out I had heard that voice before on Tulsa’s overlooked yet noteworthy 2007 EP I Was Submerged. After some difficulties with their label the band split and Tanton went on to play guitar for Marissa Nadler. His experience playing and arranging on Nadler’s recent self-titled album served as a catalyst for his recent solo effort Freeclouds. Tanton’s base sensibilities are decidedly singer-songwriter, but his brand of Americana is accented by an array of genres from lo-fi to psychedelia to dream pop. Album opener “Murderous Joy” is a hazy Alt. Country strummer sure to appeal to listeners who used to like Ryan Adams (emphasis on “used to”). While the genre shift from “Murderous Joy” to the haze-pop of “Fake Pretend,” which features the aforementioned Nadler, may seem a bit abrupt for sticklers dead-set on cohesiveness, it’s Tanton’s willingness to take chances that makes Freeclouds so endearing. Tanton also fittingly tackles Sparklehorse classic “Saturday.” The late Mark Linkous, who was known for his genre-hopping, seems like an obvious influence on Freeclouds, which finds Tanton dabbling with everything from garage-rock on “Horrorscope” to finger-picked folk on album closer “Pitch Bent Flute.” Now the newest member of Captain Obvious-favorite Lower Dens, Tanton establishes himself as a unique voice with Freeclouds. It’s all over the place in the best possible sense. — Capt. Obvious

Listen:

Fake Pretend.mp3

Horrorscope.mp3