Carbon Leaf, the acclaimed rock band known for their unique blend of folk, Americana, and rock influences, is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of their new album, Time Is The Playground, out September 27th. Recorded at the band’s own Two-Car Studio, the 12-song collection is both a call to action and an embrace of the moment. Marrying nostalgic storytelling with nuanced, folk-infused indie rock, the album finds the Richmond, Virginia band embroidering heartfelt melody and harmony with acoustic and electric instrumentation. The result is a brilliant rumination on time, love and personal growth that’s equal parts urgent epiphany and contented exhalation. Pre-orders/Pre-saves for Time Is The Playground, will launch this Tuesday, August 6, HERE.
Masterfully melding saturated AC/DC guitar and squelchy Cars synth, the album’s lead single “Backmask 1983” is a fun flipbook of evocative era emblems – Farrah Fawcett, “Satanic Panic,” Time Life Books, Bigfoot, and more – that traverses the simultaneous nexus of frontman Barry Privett’s childhood/adolescence and the world’s analog/digital ages. “Without a whole lot of information, the mystery of things felt so heightened,” recalled Privett of growing up pre-Internet. “I wanted to capture some of that but also have fun with it.”
The song captures the essence of those formative years, blending wistful nostalgia with a sense of wonder and discovery. “It’s about embracing not just the mystery, but the want, the desire, the need to still believe - something that can get harder and more challenging as one ages,” Privett continues. “‘Backmask 1983’ straddles that world in between, where you want to keep hold of those pieces that made you who you are, but you also have these new unfamiliar forces you want to embrace. This song was Carbon Leaf’s way of articulating some of that crossover.”
‘Time Is The Playground’ is Carbon Leaf’s first full-length album in a decade, during which they released two EPs and a 27-song live performance album and Blu-ray. This album bridges past and present, featuring both rediscovered musical fragments from the last 15 years and brand new material. Privett dusted off old demos and shut himself away for months to finish their stories while also honing recent compositions. With Clark engineering, Carbon Leaf – completed by founding member Carter Gravatt, longtime bassist Jon Markel and drummer Jesse Humphrey – spent a year and a half recording and mixing the resulting songs.
Photo credit: Brittany Diliberto
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Masterfully melding saturated AC/DC guitar and squelchy Cars synth, the album’s lead single “Backmask 1983” is a fun flipbook of evocative era emblems – Farrah Fawcett, “Satanic Panic,” Time Life Books, Bigfoot, and more – that traverses the simultaneous nexus of frontman Barry Privett’s childhood/adolescence and the world’s analog/digital ages. “Without a whole lot of information, the mystery of things felt so heightened,” recalled Privett of growing up pre-Internet. “I wanted to capture some of that but also have fun with it.”
The song captures the essence of those formative years, blending wistful nostalgia with a sense of wonder and discovery. “It’s about embracing not just the mystery, but the want, the desire, the need to still believe - something that can get harder and more challenging as one ages,” Privett continues. “‘Backmask 1983’ straddles that world in between, where you want to keep hold of those pieces that made you who you are, but you also have these new unfamiliar forces you want to embrace. This song was Carbon Leaf’s way of articulating some of that crossover.”
‘Time Is The Playground’ is Carbon Leaf’s first full-length album in a decade, during which they released two EPs and a 27-song live performance album and Blu-ray. This album bridges past and present, featuring both rediscovered musical fragments from the last 15 years and brand new material. Privett dusted off old demos and shut himself away for months to finish their stories while also honing recent compositions. With Clark engineering, Carbon Leaf – completed by founding member Carter Gravatt, longtime bassist Jon Markel and drummer Jesse Humphrey – spent a year and a half recording and mixing the resulting songs.
Photo credit: Brittany Diliberto
Website I Facebook I Instagram I X I Apple Music I Spotify I BandsInTown
