Carnation

Shot through with a deep sensuality, Carnation is a high-wire balancing act, at times sexual, emotionally intense and comforting. The album features Daughn's strongest songwriting yet, with lyrical subject matter that shares a kinship with writers Raymond Carver and Donald Ray Pollack. The music here combines with those lyrics to widescreen effect, and Carnation feels filmic in its execution: It evokes, and in many ways pays homage to, the works of Tim Burton, Pier Paulo Pasolini, and John Waters.

Carnation was co-produced and recorded by Daughn Gibson and Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Jesse Sykes, Tim Hecker). Dunn's knack for textured mixes and sense of pagan weight collide with Gibson's underlying pop sensibilities. The two also enlisted the talents of composer/violinist to Eyvind Kang on string arrangements, renowned studio drummer Matt Chamberlain, as well as Daughn's long-standing musical conspirator, Jim Elkington.