One of the hardest things about falling in love is breaking up. One of the hardest things about falling in love with a band is watching it break up. And one of the best things about falling in love with Colorado music is watching bands that break up re-emerge years later in new forms. is the latest example of this bittersweet phenomenon. Read on to learn more about this “new” Denver quartet and steal a track from the band’s debut EP.
When Ten Cent Redemption quietly parted ways in 2008, tears fell into piles of sawdust all over Colorado. Drummer Bill Thomason, bassist Tony Burke, guitarist Johnny Waggoner and frontman Rhett Lee had become local heroes with their rollicking brand of barroom-busting alternative country, and it was a shame to see the party end. The reliable Denver sun seemed to have set on the music-making days for these boys as Waggoner lit out for points west and Lee’s career focused on booking bands at the Soiled Dove.
Earlier this year, however, Burke and Waggoner surfaced together, playing with ‘s . As it turns out, Waggoner had quietly returned to Colorado, and he and Burke were cooking up new sounds of their own, along with guitarist John “JT” Nething and bassist Mark Kosta of the .
Those new sounds have now taken shape on “Haunted,” the debut EP from Carmelita’s Lovers. With an equal balance of lonely campfire ballads and beer-spilling, dust-kicking rock, the quartet rambles its way through four songs that showcase the veteran players’ breadth and skill. While there’s a Western twang to the tracks that might remind listeners of Ten Cent and the New Ben Franklins, there’s something even darker in the Lovers’ terminally heartbroken, embittered hearts. “Haunted” plays like an anti-love letter to a flame that has singed a few vulnerable hairs and hasn’t quite sputtered out yet.
The EP has the ragged edges of a band that’s still finding its unique voice, but expect great leaps forward from here, and a solid live show from these stage-steady stalwarts when they play (with Barstool Messiah and ) and .
To get your juices flowing, steal “What’s Behind the Door?” right now. If you like that, why not pick up the whole EP (for any price you choose) over at ?
Please note that downloads offered via Steal This Track are intended to whet your appetite, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.
If you’re a band or musician ready to expose your fresh sounds to the readers of Reverb, email your tracks — along with any interesting facts about them, as well as a photo or album art — to Eryc Eyl for consideration.
Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out for local music you can HEAR, and the for stories about Denver musicians doing extraordinary things. Against his mother’s advice, Eryc has also been known to . You can also follow Sorry, Mom.
