"Are you ready to feel unknown / The blood of unknowable renown / Are you locked in, down, or out? / Steady for rekeying here..."
The full throttle abstractions, and vox populi freedom fists of "Cartpushers", by stalwart artist, singer-songwriter, musician Jefferson Pitcher, is so dramatically drawn that it feels like the theme of movie, one that might contain dark espionage, illegal nation building or real life revolutions for the betterment of people crushed by oppressive thumbs. This is the thing though, impactful music with such politico tensions can be used by many sides. I am thinking of when Jack White shot a public cease and dissent letter to the Trump campaign for using "Seven Nation Army", but I digress.
There is so much sonic density and perfectly placed production embellishments on this track that makes it's way into your head. The angular guitar rhythms that fall against dissonant places, the truly bolstering bass work (Love it), the glitch ambience full of bending synths, the sort of hyper surfy drum beats, the layers of lead guitars and, of course, Pitcher's evocative vocal presence. Pitchers sonics seeds seem to have included Radiohead’s "In Rainbows" and while I can definitely feel that, I also thought of Porcupine Tree and maybe oddly enough, and especially because of the outro where the guitar lines feel kind of Western Pop noir-ish, I felt the pop prowess of a song like Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer" (love that song).
So, in my head, "Cartpushers" might be best described as an alternative rock pop noir song and while I don't know if Pitcher would agree, it certainly casts filmic images in my head. Such a cool vibe.
Lyrics:
Are you ready to feel unknown
The blood of unknowable renown
Are you locked in, down, or out?
Steady for rekeying here.
And the king will be carried in on silk tonight
The farmers and cobblers and Cartpushers will be ready
Are you cut in, down, or out
For the beast to finally take throne
I cut my tongue on a knife made from an eel bone
Is there some stigma we should know about
Now we trust you with our aviary lives
And the king will carry us
On silk tonight
The farmers and cobblers and Cartpushers will be ready
They will be heroes. They will be our heroes.
“Cartpushers,” exists on Jefferson Pitcher's latest album, "The Bellow" and is the second release after "The Crane". Northampton, MA | Lost Forest Records.
When we arrive at the chorus with a lush and beautiful layering of guitar melodies and harmonies, I am completely in the world of The Smiths, no small feat. While Pitcher has an uncanny ability to conjure everything from Johnny Greenwood dissonance and the soaring ferocity of Billy Corgan, he can also deftly guide us into the ether, on lofty, mingling melodies like Johnny Marr. This second single purports that we are in for an expansive and grand Lp, a completely realized vision after decades of work.
Pitcher wears his influences on his sleeve, citing Radiohead, Arcade Fire, and The National as guiding lights, and fans of those bands will recognize the aesthetic embedded in his songwriting. However, "The Crane" isn’t mere homage—it’s a song crafted with a sense of emotional depth and meticulous performance that stands on its own. For those who appreciate the swelling grandeur and nuanced melancholy of the aforementioned artists, this track will be more than just familiar. It’ll feel like home.
Pitcher returns to the studio in May to begin work on an instrumental jazz quartet imagining of The Bellows, followed by another song cycle next winter. Press inquiries can be directed to info@jeffpitcher.com or and additional info can be found via Pitcher’s website.]
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/jefferson-pitcher
https://jeffersonpitcher.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pitcherguitars/
https://www.jeffersonpitcher.com/
Jefferson Pitcher is an innovative singer-songwriter known for his genre-defying music that combines intricate melodies with personal narratives. His previous works include the critically acclaimed albums: Of Great and Mortal Men and To All Dead Sailors. Pitcher has released music with Sedimental (USA), Attenuation Circuit (Germany), Jealous Butcher (USA), Striking Mechanism (USA), Standard Recording Co. (USA), Digitalis Recordings (USA), Camera Obscura (Australia), Tape Drift Records (USA), Lost Forest (USA), Moonpalace (Spain), Dutch East India (USA), Words on Music (USA), Tract Records (USA). He has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists including Radar Bros., Will Johnson, Denison Witmer, Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, Ikue Mori, Okkyung Lee, Scott Amendola, Mark Dresser, Mike Bullock, Tim Keiper, Doug Van Nort, Jonathan Chen, Jason Robinson, Bob Weiner, Rosie Thomas, Christian Kiefer, and many more.
Pitcher’s work has garnered critical acclaim from outlets including Pitchfork, All Things Considered, WIRE, Blurt, Prefix, KQED, Brainwashed, and many more, for its originality and emotional depth, establishing him as a leading figure in the landscape of thoughtfully challenging artists welcoming you into a fully realized, unique sonic world.
Jefferson Pitcher, singer-songwriter and genre-bending artist, returns to conventional song from a long stint in the world of improvisation and noise with a triumphant, expansive, full-length record: The Bellows. Scheduled for release on April 11, 2025 The Bellows stands as testament to Pitcher's inventive approach to music and his ability to synergize disparate facets of sound.
Drawing sonic inspiration from the introspective and experimental tones of R.E.M’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Radiohead's In Rainbows, Pitcher and a team of collaborators craft a music that is both ethereal and grounded, sweeping and intimate. The album's atmospheric production and detailed arrangements will immediately appeal to fans of The National, while its lyrical intimacy and narrative quality will resonate with those who appreciate The Decemberists' storytelling prowess, as Pitcher investigates an imagined world where water is scarce, and birds are the dominant species. The album's songs are a journey through the corridors of angst and introspection, featuring Pitcher's signature blend of poetic lyricism and diary-like reflections. Each track serves as a chapter in a larger narrative, weaving together personal anecdotes with universal themes on parenthood, masculinity, environmentalism, and nature in a way that is both haunting and profoundly relatable.
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