Carl Dickens – Pith and Vinegar (2023)
In Carl Dickens’ debut album, Pith and Vinegar (2023), the fusion of exquisite violin and sarcasm takes center stage. As a violinist, tenor guitarist, and vocalist, Dickens, a former journalist, skillfully intertwines finely crafted music with a profound affection for language.
Drawing on a diverse musical background that spans Celtic music, contemporary jazz, and pop, Dickens skillfully combines his western classical music training with an array of influences. Notably, he writes songs that are both playful and potent, marked by a refreshing honesty. The songs he crafts explore poetic tales, unfiltered expressions of consciousness, and meditations on dysfunction at both personal and societal levels.
Dickens, from Bellarine, Australia, is a talented songwriter, who employs a distinctive and vulnerable vocal style that conveys warmth and contemplation.
While Dickens is self-taught on the four-string tenor guitar, it is his renowned expertise in the violin, cultivated through years of genre-hopping in orchestras, bands, and duos, that elevates the album. His violin artistry delivers poignant, delightful and impassioned solos, adding depth and richness to Pith and Vinegar.
Credits: Carl Dickens on vocals, violin, tenor guitar; Isaac Barter – percussion, bass, electric guitar, production and mixing, mastering; Kym Dillon on piano and keyboard; Tommy Castles on percussion, production, recording and mixing. The lush cover art is by illustrator Germano Ovani.
Buy Pith and Vinegar.
Author: Claudia Taylor
