We Can Build An Island

Charlemagne is still very much Carl Johns. But since his last release (and SideCho debut), 2005 s Detour Allure, things have changed significantly in the musician s camp. No longer are albums pieced together in a Madison, WI-based home studio in between day jobs and life s obligations. And no longer is Charlemagne a revolving door of sidemen and artistic hands. He has since relocated to Brooklyn and has established a backing ensemble with his East
Coast-based bandmates Matt Ricchini and Michael Heinzer (also of Soft People). He has also reverted to his days of recording as a live unit (as he did in Noahjohn several years earlier), by imple-
menting the same techniques with Charlemagne s latest album, We Can Build An Island. This year s Charlemagne model finds Johns with a better sense of musical permanency. With the album
wrapped, Johns looks forward to the future with his new bandmates. I just wanted a consistent variable, he says. I liked the idea of playing with the same people over and over. Things are no longer
on a short-term ... It s time for us to tighten things up a little bit. With a melding of influences, including The Velvet Underground, The Queen, The Kinks and the Pixies, Charlemagne s latest effort finds the act squarely in the realm of dirty pop songs, tinged with a bit of folk and psychedelia proving that once again Johns is
here to stay.