press

(l > r) Milo Venter, Ryan McGlynn, Mike McWilliams and Jared Pollack. Photo by Chris Pfiel.

Our band biography is located at the bottom of this page.

Some kind words about CARLON:

On the Verge: Artists You Should Know About
“When Carlon recorded Johari Window in an empty, 20,000 square foot warehouse, drummer Milo Venter was heavily immersed in the film scores of Danny Elfman. So it is no surprise that the New Jersey-based Americana rock band managed to capture a relaxed, reverb-drenched, slightly avant-garde Americana sound like My Morning Jacket’s The Tennessee Fire. “You could fly a kite in the room,” bassist Jared Pollack says of the sessions, which were recently released through Ropeadope Digital. “You could place a microphone at the opposite end and have natural reverb and delay.” The album came alive through the support of people like executive producer—and Dispatch co-founder—Pete Francis and producer Ross Petersen (Bruce Springsteen, Muse, John Mayer). “Everyone also tried new instruments,” rhythm guitarist and vocalist Mike McWilliams explains. “Just because you’ve never received proper training doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to play it on a record.”
- Lucas Samuels, Relix Magazine

Record Reviews: Johari Window (Ropeadope)
“Its authors may lack name recognition, but this lovely, sweeping record radiates enough unmistakable majesty to be one of this year’s biggest sleepers. Blending the splendor and panorama of The War on Drugs with the genre-bending ambition and emotionality of Portugal. The Man, the latest album by this New Jersey band shimmers with spacious indie folk that spans the horizon….It’s clear that [Johari Window] was crafted with intellect, but intuition for the overall song is always paramount throughout. The sterling result is a triumph of listenability, depth and wingspan.”
- Bao Le-Huu, Flagpole Magazine

A sound without a category
“Somewhere between Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket (and Fairfield and the Jersey Shore) exists Carlon — a pack of relative newcomers hip to folksy harmony (à la Fleet Foxes) and bass drum-kicking Americana (à la Kings of Leon). The album’s sound has drawn comparisons to a slew of other bands, but what makes Carlon different are the odd, almost olive loaf-like combinations. How many bands do you hear compared simultaneously to Modest Mouse and Fleet Foxes? Pink Floyd and the Jayhawks? Eddie Vedder and Wilco? Ryan Adams and the Hollies?”
- Robert Bieselin, Herald News

“A band with cinematic soul. Carlon’s music is both rootsy and richly atmospheric, in the manner of bands like My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes.”
- Jay Lustig, The Star Ledger

Just Push Play
Odds and ends that the staff of ‘Performing Songwriter’ have been obsessing over…
“I first caught wind of Carlon at this year’s SXSW, and they have quickly become one of my new favorite bands. The lead vocal duties, split between Michael McWilliams and Ryan McGlynn, are impressive and really bring the album as a concept across – it doesn’t sound like two solo artists mixing their songs together. Pick up their latest CD, Johari Window - it’s absolutely breathtaking.”
- Beth Walker, Performing Songwriter

Sprung: Best Rock & Pop Music of Spring 2009
Carlon: Johari Window (Ropeadope)
“Is roots-rock and Americana making a comeback? While it never really went away, if you heard these Jayhawks/Wilco-inspired Jersey Shore lads, the answer would be obvious. Having just torn up SxSW, they’re poised to start garnering the same respect granted some of the genre’s elder statesmen. Recorded in their 20,000 sq. ft rehearsal space, this 12-track effort has plenty of bombast and bottom. Dig the three-part vocal harmonies on the crazily infectious mid-tempo “Cantaloupe” and tell me otherwise.”
- Dusty Wright, Culture Catch

Music We Love: CARLON
“We were introduced to the band CARLON last year and have been hooked ever since.   Incorporating a melodic mix of folk, rock and country, these good looking New Jersey natives create an incredible sound that is all their own. Their most recently released album, Johari Window is a compilation of 12 tracks whose original lyrics evoke a sense of self exploration and soul searching so proverbial to all of us.”
- Inside Diane Von Furstenberg

“New Jersey rock band Carlon have a primal, garage sound that creeps up on you like the Strokes early work. And fortunately the boys in this group have it. Carlon sound far more wiser and experienced musically beyond their years.”
- Jason MacNeil, Pop Matters

Carlon Capitalizes on ‘Window’ of Opportunity
“Released in March, Johari Window has an open, big-room sound, and an intense, eerie mood weaves its way through the 12 songs.”
- Asbury Park Press

“Their sound isn’t quite alt-country and it’s not really folk; it has that intangible feeling of newness but has learned from its roots.  On this year’s LP Johari Window, the band delivers something long overdue in the indie world: solid alternative rock music.  No cookie cutter, “I get why people like it because it sounds like…” fakery involved.  Carlon’s music is pointed and harmonic, and it comes out with a far-off, luminous atmosphere that would make anyone nostalgic for the outdoors.

Johari Window is a terrific album, in which skilled instrumentation provides an expansive cushion for smart lyrics and dynamic melodies.  Carlon is one of Jersey’s best indie bands right now, and they’ll be an important part of the East Coast music scene for years to come.”
- Ben Salvo, Knocks from the Underground

“Slide guitars wail, thunderous drums plod and pound, and the bass rattles your bones and innards as if a volcano was erupting from inside of you, spewing forth a hybrid of metal and southern rock that would make My Morning Jacket turn off their reverb and listen intently.”
- Scott Homewood, The Rock and Roll Report

Indie Rock with a Vision
“Carlon distinguishes itself from the rest of the indie rock scene by creating a seamlessly unique sound that can move from alternative rock to country without losing its character for one beat. The songs on Johari Window incorporate electronic elements as well as acoustic ones, and catchy choruses as well as improvised guitar solos.  Johari Window is a solid album by a strong band with a bright future.”
- Laura Goldberg, All that Matters in Music

“That they did not “set out to create a particular sound,” explains well the reason for the eclectic mix of songs found on New Jersey-based Carlon’s Ropeadope Digital 12-track debut, Johari Window. The resulting disc cannot be easily classified, nor should it be.”
- Roy Opochinski, Groovevolt.com

“It takes an abundance of talent to fuse disparate musical flavors together in a fashion that doesn’t feel awkward or trite. On Johari Window, Carlon succeeds, with swaggering flair, in making the case that it is an original act with a style that is entirely its own.”
- Kirk DeCordova, The Music Box

Carlon: Johari Window in the City
“If you’ve never heard of Carlon, now is the time to give them a listen. Refreshingly, this New Jersey quartet’s new album Johari Window has quite literally broken every cliché of the indie rock scene. The first chords of the album instantly pull you into their meditative yet provocative world of atmospheric reverberance where you can just ‘put your guard down, breathe and follow through.’

This blues rock/folk band was clearly not afraid to step out of the dull indie guitar rock scene and create music of sheer beauty, vigor and quality that sustains throughout the entire album. Carlon simply cannot be compared to any other band out there right now and instead draws influences from 1960’s and 1970’s bands like Pink Floyd and The Beatles.”
- Lindsay Wallace, Unrated NYC

Carlon: Refreshment for your ears
“Listening to Carlon, echoes of classic rock, folk, country, western, and even psychedelic influences infuse together to create a truly unique musical experience. The collection of songs on the album represent Carlon’s myriad of musical influences. “Where the Driveway Ends” sounds like it was left off George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, “Caution” evokes the Plastic Ono Band, and “Red Rover” pulls some inspiration from African folk music. The strongest track from the bunch is “Have a Window”, which is simply a refreshing rock song.”
- Jill Vallecorsa, Blast Magazine

“We recommend Carlon (New Jersey), Johari Window (Ropeadope): Features the infectious single ‘Cantaloupe,’ an irresistible display of Beatles and Pink Floyd influences.”
- Chris Gray, Houston Press

“Carlon, the name says it all. Never heard it before? Neither had I, but isn’t that what we are looking for, something new? Something new it is. Johari Window has broken every cliché of the indie band scene. Carlon pulls from artists like Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, and My Morning Jacket.….Stick to your guns Carlon, and you’ve got a lifelong fan. With Michael McWilliams and Ryan McGlynn taking turns on the lead mic, this four piece is one to watch. Carlon can indisputably write a song and remix the recipe to all your favorites. Watch out, for Carlon is on the rise.”
- Ken Abernathy, Music-Reviewer.com

“The overall production value of [Johari Window] conjures up Kurt Weill playing a calliope at a perpetual carnival, while George Martin rides a Merry-Go-Round in the background trying to figure out how to mix Sergeant Pepper’s.   ‘Where The Driveway Ends’ has an echo vocal on vocal play, and Rosie’ sounds like Tom Waits on a synthesized pump organ thing, backing Eddie Vedder.

You can’t define em, can’t exactly put a handle on em.  Original they are.  I bet they are first in line at the premiere of Tim Burton and Steven King movies.  With all of this being said, you have to check them out.  One thing is for sure: you can’t say they are a ripoff/sound alike pop band.  Now I’ve done it, after writing this, I have to listen to this again.  Maybe it contained a subliminal cut!”
- Robert Engelman, Skope Magazine

Editor’s Review: Carlon’s ‘Cantaloupe’
“Sometimes, a band will record in a warehouse so they can tell people they recorded in a warehouse. And sometimes, they’ll do it to sound like this. No strangers to the post-industrial motif–they’re from Jersey–Carlon drop a swoony stunner that makes full use of its cavernous space.”

Band Biography:
Carlon is a band built on relationships, both present and past, and the result is deliberate rock music that strives to explore them. With a resonant, classic sound, Carlon creates heartfelt and haunting moments that are somehow familiar to all of us. On March 17, 2009, fans and newcomers alike heard the results of the band’s honest exploration with the release of Johari Window (Ropeadope Records), a 12-track LP that clearly demonstrates the breadth of the band’s vision, musical drive and talent.

Produced by Carlon and Ross Petersen (engineer for Bruce Springsteen, Muse, John Mayer) and Executive Produced by Pete Francis (bass player of Universal recording artist Dispatch), Johari Window was recorded in the band’s 20,000 square foot warehouse rehearsal space in Fairfield, New Jersey. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Mike McWilliams notes that the band’s approach in recording the album reflects a maturity the group worked hard to develop: “We’re proud that we recorded the album ourselves in our own rehearsal space – we didn’t go into a sterile studio, we did it in a place that we made our home. On earlier records, it seems like we just made individual tracks and hoped that they would come out okay. But on this record, we set out to create a specific atmosphere – we learned how to do that in the warehouse better than ever before – and as a result, the music we wanted to create just seemed much more possible than ever before.”

While the material for Johari Window is drawn directly from the experiences of all four band members, the album is just as much about Carlon learning how to communicate with one another and reflecting on what they went through while working to record the album. Bassist Jared Pollack recalls, “Something we asked ourselves from the very beginning wasn’t ‘How can we learn to make new music with one another?’ but, more importantly, ‘How can we communicate with one another during the creative process, learn to try different things and make personal compromises for the collective good.” Drummer Milo Venter adds, “During recording, we lost our minds. But, our minds came back. We got our vision across and we achieved what we set out accomplish: to just make real music in a real environment. We’re proud of what the last year has taught us.”

When asked what Carlon sounds like, the band can become pretty uncomfortable. Lead singer and guitarist Ryan McGlynn explains: “I don’t know that there has been much of anything that we have listened to that hasn’t influenced the songs that we have written in some way. If we hear country in what we’re writing, we’ll add a bit of country. If we hear something new or old, we won’t hesitate to quote it in our music. For us, it’s never been about trying to sound like anyone or anything in particular, just creating something that sounds good to us. Johari Window was the chance to share a dream of ours to create a whole album that was a piece of art to us, with each song depending on the next. We thought, ‘Maybe then other people will like the music, too.’”

Although Carlon was officially founded in the spring of 2005, the beginnings of the band go back several years. McGlynn first met McWilliams down at the Jersey shore back in the summer of 1998. The two started playing and writing together almost immediately and continue to co-write most of the band’s songs and lyrics. Around 2002, Pollack, a friend of both McWilliams and McGlynn, had been working summer jobs down at the Jersey shore. Jared soon joined the other two playing bass and the three eventually began playing together whenever they could. It was clear to them that it was time to start a band; all that was left was to find a drummer.

A few years later, McGlynn started music classes at Raritan Valley Community College, where he met Venter. The two hit it off and, after Venter played a rehearsal with the others, Carlon was finally complete. The band self-released a 4-track demo, Day Two, in October 2005 and a 7-track EP, Suburban Heel, in October 2006.

In looking back at the past few years, the present with Johari Window and the future of the band, McGlynn assures us that Carlon will always seek to achieve more in its music: “As long as we continue to challenge ourselves, we’ve learned through this album to appreciate and enjoy our work, especially if its flawed and reflective of the change we went through while recording. There is an overall lesson in the process: not everything turns out the way you may have wanted it to turn out, but, when you start to appreciate that, you just want to do it again and better the next time. Maybe that’s why I can actually listen to this album.”