Some years ago, we were turned on to the music of the Toronto-based acoustic singer/songer Carl Lorusso Jr.
The team was keen to his sound, lyrics and especially his 2018 album, Murder Tools.
Since that time, Lorusso has gained even more followers and critical acclaim thanks to his follow-up to Murder Tools, the 2020 album For My Sins.
Lorusso also recently dropped a menancing, anti-folk track, “Two Caps of Medicine.” The track has a forboding nature about it while bright keys and effects swirl around the main riff and Lorusso predominantly-spoken vocals. He dropped four singles in total during the pandemic following the 2020 LP For My Sins.
Of those singles from last year, a counter to “Two Caps of Medicine” is the sobering, yet inspiring, lo-fi, anti-folk rock on the weirdly-catchy “Cigarettes in Windstorm.” Sweet track. There’s plenty of other solid tracks you can listen to and discover on Lorusso’s Bandcamp page.
His first breakthrough came in 2017 after his album, 100 Broken Words, was nominated for the Tonroto Independent Music Award in the ‘Best Folk/Blues’ category.
Although he did not win the award, the nomination itself was a boost to his music, self-confidence and his career. It’s a huge accomplishment for anyone, especially in a big city known for its music scene.
And for Lorusso, like so many bootstrap folk musicians in the big city, such a competitive atmosphere has its benefits and drawbacks. Yet, Lorusso has managed to continue to get his name and music out.
Covid has been devastating for musicians, especially DIY folks without a label to back them through the pandemic. For artists who were gaining a momentum right prior to the pandemic, covid has been a bitch.
That said, Lorusso has remained a constant in the Queen City with features in the press and blogs.
While we always encourage people to dig into the discography of artists’ we feature for themselves and on their own time, a few particular examples of Lorusso’s best work – i.e., Murder Tools – so far would include the upbeat “Garden of Doubt” is a happy, fast sung track, beaming with guitars and Lorusso’s nasally singing and talking in Dylan-like style.
The emulating, bluesy/jazzy number “Crooked Die” is apparently influenced by the magnificent Tom Waits.
The indie folk, gospel-like “Six Ton Burden Blues” is driven by acoustic guitars and banjos, gritty vocals, playful and offbeat lyrics and a full chorus.
Working with 2-time NOW Magazine ‘Producer of the Year’ Harrison Fine, Lorusso’s Murder Tools presented a fresh chapter in his decade-long career with artistic nods to Waits & John Prine and contemporary artists such as Nathaniel Rateliff & Ben Caplan.
The astute, experienced listener detects additional influences such as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Elliot Smith.
Lorusso’s sound is soft yet rugged; steeped in emotion with a beautiful grit underlining his songwriting and vocals.
The storylines therefore are magnified by his tight musicianship and story-telling that together nicely time and again. Few artists are able to do that time and again while simulatenously advancing their craft.
There’s a palpable authenticity to his music that is under-appreciated perhaps in the wider folk world. Then again, there are so many releaeses every month – just in the folk umbrealla – that makes it more likely that the best artists are not being heard as often as they should be compared to others that are.
