PHOTO: Brooklyn Vegan
ZACHARY CALE
Zachary Cale is a songwriter originally hailing from the small town of Enon, Louisiana. His music ranges from lyrical folk balladry and American primitive inspired guitar instrumentals to experiments in popular song forms.
Over the span of 6 years he has released four full length albums, Outlander Sessions (2005), Walking Papers (2008), a full band rock record See-Saw (2008) under the name Illuminations, and most recently his third solo effort, Noise of Welcome (2011). He often performs alone with an acoustic guitar but has been known to include a revolving cast of musicians whom he calls The Rainband.
NOISE OF WELCOME DIGITAL PRESS KIT >>
COME QUIETLY 7” DIGITAL PRESS KIT >>
WALKING PAPERS DIGITAL PRESS KIT >>
DISCOGRAPHY:
"Zachary Cale is the best singer-songwriter working right now. Period."
-Pop Matters
“Spare, chilly, indie soundtrack-worthy folk that nods to its influences without attempting to revive them.”
-WNYC
AHE-08 Come Quietly b/w The Wedding Party - 7"
ZACHARY CALE
Come Quietly
7”
$5
"This is an extremely pleasant and well done indie psych folk single from a young Olympia-to-Brooklyn transplant. Zachary Cale’s voice has a sardonic and cutting edge to it that brings to mind at times Current 93’s David Tibet or Comus’ Roger Wootton, which stops the well constructed melodies of these two from being merely pretty and floating off into the clouds. Very grave, but memorable music. This 7” (which follows two solo full-lengths, as well as work with his band Illuminations, reviewed here earlier) brings to mind Sister Lovers-era Alex Chilton, Tim Hardin, and even the more depressing moments of Robyn Hitchcock. One of the best things about doing these reviews is when a great record by someone who you never would have paid attention to otherwise rolls in, and this is one of those records. Great stuff."
-Chris Strunk (Still Single/Dusted Magazine)
“Contemporary psych/folk anchored by amazing songwriting. “The Wedding Party” does that old folk trick: mournful and hopeful at the same time. Played on repeat in my head for 6 months.” -Scott McDowell (WFMU) - Top 12 2010
“Really sweet two-song single from singer-songwriter Zachary Cale... I hear a little bit of the greatness of Daniel Johnston... Killer tracks, hope there's an entire album of this stuff coming down the pipeline soon...”
-Michael Klausman (Other Music) READ COMPLETE REVIEW >>
"'Come Quietly' remains strange enough through its duration to shed influence in the course of the first couplet and the scruffy field recordings. The song is deceivingly Opry-house or ethereal church pulpit, but satisfyingly met with Daniel Johnston in a peak of clarity or the lazy neighborhood shaman throwing Dylan bones. . . 'The Wedding Party,' in stark contrast, is a finger-picked hymnal, magnifies this solo-artist’s (and the label’s) mastery of roots music, which he eventually spins into a web of intimate, intriguing, singer-songwriter shimmering mystery and misery."
-Kevin J. Elliott (Primitive Futures/The Agit Reader) READ COMPLETE REVIEW >>
“There’s a certain gruff waver to Cale’s voice, the way it bites at the edge of your eardrum that hefts it out of the standard doldrums of a man with a guitar. Real emotion lives in the vocals... and his ruminations on love and its numerous varied outcomes, good bad ugly, have a tangible weight to them...”
-Noah Sanders (Sound on the Sound) READ COMPLETE REVIEW >>
AHE-03 Walking Papers LP/CD-R
ZACHARY CALE
WALKING PAPERS
LP $14
CDR $6
Tracks:
1. Laugh Alone
3. Eye For An Eye
4. Tell Tale
6. Head-On
7. Gone Girl
8. Kicked Awake
"Zachary Cale is a songwriter's songwriter, as prolific as he is original. His voice can be delicate for love or wry for satire. The ability to hear what is in a song has guided him well in the making of his own." -John Allen (WFMU)
“Long-delayed second album by Olympia-to-NYC singer-songwriter Zachary Cale, recorded in pro fashion at Bearsville Studios in 2005; the late date of release and the album’s title might give the story away. Playing solo and with full band accompaniment, this loner/Leonard Cohen acolyte plays an accomplished guitar and writes serious lyrics with poetic depth. He’s able to pull it off extraordinarily well, too, at times recalling the Mark Fry LP none of us had heard until recently. The graveness of some of this music might hold Cale back from greater acceptance, but it’s not necessarily the lightest of us that’s going to be remembered on down the line. Cold, chilly folk for dark times.”
-Doug Mosurock (Still Single - Dusted Magazine)
“Desperate, slow, acoustic and deep. Folk to the bone. Listening to this recording is more than highly recommended.” (translated from Italian)
-Gio Venditti (Indie for Bunnies) READ COMPLETE REVIEW >>
“Somewhere nestled in the mountains where echoes of Dylan and Nick Drake settle through the fog is where Cale gets his inspiration. Walking Papers isn’t stark and bitter, it’s beautifully arranged with light sheets of pedal steel, and on standout “Stowaway,” bowed orchestral lilt. There are some ragged moments, especially on the near-spiritual weep of “Eye for an Eye,” and these would no doubt fess up for Cale’s preferred troubadour regale. The closer, “Kicked Awake,” is a truly elegant confessional.
-Kevin J. Elliott (Primitive Futures - The Agit Reader)
“Dark, chilly folk that's as beautifully modern as it is solidly rooted in its influences. Released four years after it was recorded, Walking Papers is quietly reflective, subtly poetic and very relate-able, malleable; perfect for a pensive dusk drive home. Cale's songwriting is solid; again, the sound is very similar to Cohen's or a far less political or upbeat Dylan, but without sounding like an attempt to copy. Cale's unusual voice makes the album. No summer jams here, but rather lovely, introspective folk ballads.”
-Alex Garrison (KJHK)
NWOS-28 Outlander Sessions LP/CD - NEW WORLD OF SOUND
ZACHARY CALE
OUTLANDER SESSIONS
LP $14
CD $10
Tracks:
1. Ophelia
2. A Marked Man
3. Hymn to Beauty
4. Pinata
5. Train of Thought/ Winter Picking
6. Truck Song
7. Ailment
8. Chasing the Blue
9. Don’t Curse Me When I’m Gone
10. On the Couch
“Outlander Sessions is a personal statement about distance, isolation and alienation brought on by love, and the transition from rock guitarist to solo acoustic performer. Zachary Cale was previously a member of several short lived Olympia college bands inspired by Dead Moon, Unwound and Pere Ubu. Upon his arrival to Harlem NYC in 2002 and affected by the tune-smithery of Peter Laughner, Tim Hardin and Townes Van Zandt, recorded this LP of ballads, Highway 61 rockers, and finger-picked instrumentals.”
-New World of Sound
"The young man blues. Zachary Cale is a twentysomething Olympia-to-Harlem transplant who recorded these 11 songs in the winter of 2003 on a four-track. Mostly acoustic strum with some electric touches, Cale (no relation to John or J.J. from what I gather) comes across on the straightahead folk-stone tip, languishing in the lazy glow of coal heat against cold skin. He's a good guitarist, a fine songwriter somewhere between a Doug Martsch type and a heartbroken Tim Hardin, and the songs work just so. Edition of 400 in a silkscreened jacket; CD issue forthcoming eventually. On the long-dormant, always excellent New World of Sound label."
-Doug Mosurock (Dusted Magazine)
“Dylan-esque vocals, over uplifting, meditative songwriting.”
-Free Indie
AHE-13 Noise of Welcome LP/CD (RELEASE DATE: May 17)
ZACHARY CALE
Noise of Welcome
LP $14
CD $10
Tracks:
1. Dead Channel Overture
2. Blake’s Way
3. Day for Night
5. Shanghaied
6. Nocturne in G Minor
On his third album, Louisiana bred Brooklyn resident Zachary Cale casts a wide net, encompassing everything he's done previously whether solo or with band accompaniment. Recorded in 2009 at his home studio "Noise of Welcome" is a collection of songs that is distinctly modern in tone and substance. Moving from acoustic ballads and oddly tuned instrumentals to electrified country and Kinksian pop the album projects a kind of psych/folk/rock hybrid, recalling the genre shifts of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" or Big Star's "Sisters Lovers". Featuring performances by members of Cale's former ensemble, Illuminations, and guest spots by Chris Brokaw, D. Charles Speer, and Anni Rossi, Cale's signature finger-picking technique is reinforced with grander orchestral movements and a full backing band which helps to illuminate the brilliance of his craft. Lyrically we are given what we've come to expect of Cale: thought provoking narrative hymnals, with bracing rumination and longing delivery, but these songs feel lighter. Perhaps this is because he's shifted away from the dark imagery of past efforts into a spiritual twilight, with themes of forgiveness, redemption, absolution and even... celebration. His voice too has grown more versatile, with subtle vibrato lifts complimenting higher pitched cries, bringing to mind contemporaries such as Cass Mccombs or Andy Cabic. "Noise of Welcome" may prove to be Zachary Cale's greatest achievement as a singer/composer to date: a testament to his unique craftsmanship and unconditional love of songs.
PRESS:
“With apologies to Robin Pecknold, Justin Vernon, Kristian Matsson, and the other great folk singers we’ve been heaping praise on the past few years, there’s something everyone needs to know. Zachary Cale is the best singer-songwriter working right now. Period.” -Matthew Fiander (Pop Matters) READ MORE>>
“Although steeped in acoustic Americana, Zachary Cale separates himself from the crowd with a rare balance between emotional depth and ankle-deep Kinks pop sensibilities.” -(The A.V. Club)
“New York transplant, Zachary Cale’s folk sound is as beautifully raw as they come. Local audiences enjoy quietly reflective ballads from this shaggy haired musician. His unusual voice and poetic songwriting are pleasantly welcomed surprises.” -NYC’s BEST LOCAL MUSICIANS Bea Broderick (CBS NY) READ MORE>>
“Zachary Cale is one of those unassuming guys who, once heard, earns your undying loyalty.” -Jason Diamond (The Brooklyn Paper)
“There’s no denying the liberation in making a record that sounds this full, and so full of purpose and promise.”
-Doug Mosurock (Dusted Magazine) READ MORE>>
“Cale has perfected a kind of avant-folk craziness that never sounds precious” -Ed Hurt (The Nashville Scene)
“With fleet fingerpicking, languid ballads and country-tinged dust ups, Zachary Cale works along the folk rock divide recalling beloved troubadours like Michael Chapman, Bob Dylan and John and Beverly Martyn.” -Scott McDowell (WFMU)
“...memorable as a favorite scene from a favorite movie and eternal as the sun. With Zach Cale, what you get is what you feel; anything more or less would be illusory. -Grant Purdum (Tiny Mix Tapes) READ MORE>>
“Cale has steadily worked the light back into his music on Noise of Welcome, the stark beauty of his earlier work succeeded by a set of shimmering songs delivered by a band, but still set to poetry like Dylan or Cohen. It’s ambitious, the way great music has to be, and Cale comes out of it as both accomplished soloist and band leader.” -Matthew Haddrill (The LIne of Best Fit) READ MORE>>
“Zachary Cale is a Brooklyn songwriter of uncommon power” -David Greenwald (Rawk Blog)
“[Zachary Cale’s] voice draws you in, it’s inviting and hypnotic and works beautifully with the gentle folk accompaniment as he strums away in true troubadour style. They are reflective, poignant and emotive and he has that rare talent of being able to make you forget what else is going on around you and immerse yourself fully in the world he creates – superb. In truth the songs feel like they could have come from any time in the past 40 years, calling to mind Donovan or Dylan as much as they do Nick Drake or vintage Fleetwood Mac, and that my friends is meant simply as a compliment of the highest order.” -John Grain (The Mad Mackerel)
“The songs that he wrote for his band’s latest and best album, “Noise of Welcome,” are configures of the riddles that he finds himself wracked by on a daily basis. They are the kinds of thoughts that come at a truly contemplative man when he gives himself over to those good chunks of solitude that seemingly scare the daylights out of us, but actually allow us to figure some things out… It’s music that makes you imagine – or recognize – time slipping by like rolling highway scenery. They are songs that ask you if you feel as if you’re actually living or if you’re just being worked or drained to death. The songs remind us how great the cost is for nearly everything – the good or the bad – and the choice has to be made how you’re going to waste your time, who you’re going to waste it with.” -Sean Moeller (Daytrotter) READ MORE>>
“Zachary Cale’s music sticks to you like gritty, summer dust well past the first listen -Valerie Veteto (The Owl Mag)
7. Dancing Devil Rag
8. We Had Our Day in the Sun
10. Easy Route
11. All To Order
12. War Love
Zachary Cale’s folk sound is as beautifully raw as they come
-CBS NY
“memorable as a favorite scene in a favorite movie and eternal as the sun”
-Tiny Mix Tapes
