Carly Cosgrove to Release New Album 'The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty'

Philly indie rock/emo band, Carly Cosgrove, have revealed details surrounding their new full-length album ‘The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty’ out June 14 via Wax Bodega.

‘The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty’ is the follow up to the band’s 2021 debut ‘See You In Chemistry’, which found the band tracing personal growth through anxiety, depression, indecision, and, ultimately, self-actualization. It was mentioned by writers AV Club, Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan and others who marveled at the band’s “unbridled ambition”.

The first single and music video for “You Old Dog” is out now. The song “describes the apparent futility of breaking a habit, delving into the conditions that made me so stubborn and unchanging” says singer/guitarist Lucas Naylor.

On ‘The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty’ Carly Cosgrove finds themselves face to face with the chronic emotional struggles that come with life in the modern age. “In summer 2022, I was diagnosed with a personality disorder,” continues Naylor. “Over time, I subconsciously determined that the best way to eliminate the collateral as I figured things out was to isolate for as long as possible and just sort of shut everyone else out. This record details those thoughts. This is an album about habit, familiarity, unfamiliarity, depression, lethargy, and self-reflection”.

Recorded at Philadelphia’s iconic Studio 4 with Justin Bartlett (Bartees Strange, Movements, L.S. Dunes), whom Naylor had known from his time at Temple University performing in jazz ensembles, the album extracts the kinetic energy of the band’s live show – seen on tours with The Wonder Years, Hot Mulligan and Knuckle Puck – and distills it into their most fully realized sonic offering to date.

“We purposely wanted to make a big, very live-sounding record,” drummer Tyler Kramer explains. “Our live show is the best way to hear our music because of the energy we’re able to harness on stage. It can be hard to translate to an album, so we specifically worked in a room we knew could capture that.”

“We worked to balance guitar work with rhythm, lyrics and melody rather than doubling down on music theory” bassist Helen Barsz adds, noting the band has, in the past, been tagged with a Midwest emo label they don’t feel particularly encapsulates their sound. “Lucas was coming up with some of his heaviest, strongest lyrical work, and that allowed us to move toward alternate chord voicings and the more harmonic side of things.

‘The Cleanest of Houses Are Empty’ Track Listing

1. Steered Straight
2. You Old Dog
3. We Don’t Your Cookies
4. Here’s A Fork
5. Fluff My Pillow
6. Zoloft
7. Random Dancing
8. Stuck In My Straw
9. What Are You, A Cop
10. The Impact Of This Exit
11. North Star Bar

“When I was going through it, I shut everyone else out of my ‘house’ so as not to feel challenged at all by anyone,” says Naylor. Soon you realize that’s not how life should work: You should want to put yourself in a place where you can exist around people without feeling threatened or scared. The silver lining of this record is I’m proud of where I ended up, even if it took a long time to get there.”

Carly Cosgrove just wrapped up the wildly successful Wax Bodega tour with Arm’s Length, Ben Quad and saturday’s at your place, with most shows selling out. They are confirmed to perform at the upcoming Excellency Festival on August 3 appearing with bands like Free Throw, Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Palette Knife, Retirement Party and more. Tickets are on sale now.

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