Carrots, The - Doing Our Part

TRACKLIST: 01. Doing our part 02. Jimmy don't cry 03. Secret since '99 04. Ladies of givens

The Austin scene has always been known from the north to south and east to west as one of the sources of interesting indie rock groups such as SHEARWATER, OKKERVIL RIVER, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY and THE EARLY TAPES. THE CARROTS came out precisely with the intention of breaking the uniformity of this scene by offering a fun and hip project, modernizing the legacy of the girl groups from the sixties like THE MARVELETTES, THE COOKIES and THE SUPREMES. The members of the group also form part of other indie groups from the same city (VOXTROT, FINALLY PUNK, GENE DEFCON, THE PRIMA DONNAS, and dozens more!). The digital component played a major role in the formation of the group: an ad was placed in myspace by Veronica Ortuño (vocals) in which she was on the quest to find people to start a group similar to THE RONETTES and THE CRYSTALS and this is what germinated into the beginning of the creation of the band in 2005. That is when the six-some formed (now there are eight members for the concerts) with Jennifer Moore (keyboards and backup vocals), Chris Lyons (bass), Jason Chef Pittman (drums), Erin Budd (backup vocals) and Stephanie Chan (guitar and backup vocals).

After their first performance in South by Southwest (SXSW), one of the most important festivals in the United States, and the recording of their first demos, their existence reached the radar of Elefant Records. Fascinated by their sound and their delicious songs, we decided to immediately sign them. The first release was their fantastic and limited edition single, “Doing Our Part” which is composed of four songs with Eric Wofford in Cacophony Studios. Songs which remind us of Martha Reeves to Linda Scott to Skeeter Davis, to THE CRYSTALS, THE COOKIES and many others, yet with a hip, direct and modern style, placing them alongside THE PIPETTES and CAMERA OBSCURA. Songs filled with stories of youngsters disappointed and not so disappointed in love (“Doing Our Part”  has the ever sounding woo-dop in the middle and the catchy chorus which sticks in one’s ears), heartbreaks ("Ladies of Givens" –doesn’t the end of the song remind you a bit of LOVIN’ SPOONFUL?), secret lovestruck high schoolers ("Secret Since 99"), and also a story of a teenager who passes away ("Jimmy don’t cry" with the delicious jazz touch); all being themes which all groups from the fifties wrote about. Of course they face these issues with irony and an upbeat feeling. In conclusion- four great songs with definite, fun and addictive melodies. So many things happen in the less than three minutes which last each song on "Doing our part!” Structural changes, harmonies, backup vocals, choruses, trills- it’s like playing hide and go seek knowing that at the end we’ll always find a whole note! In conclusión, four songs with accurate melodies and arrows from Antonio Rebollo, fun like an entire season of the IT Crowd, and as addictive as chocolate cake. And with those verses, they have got us hooked.