Making Music: Carey Street

By Alasdair McClintock on December 17, 2020 in Arts

It’s only a matter of time before everyone’s heard of these guys. Photo: Lola Brill

Listening to a Carey St song for the first time is one of those strange moments where you question everything you know about the world. Are they really so young? Surely there’s a mistake in the bio? Abby Taylor’s vocals hit you like an Amy Winehouse number and you start wondering if you’ve wasted your life or not.
Forged almost entirely in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs – guitarist, Jacko Hawthorne, the exception, hailing from the Riverina region – they’re one of the many up-and-coming bands in the area. Along with Jacko, there is aforementioned vocalist Abby, drummer Harris Guerin, and guitarist/bass player Henry Confos.
The ocean is evident in their music. While they don’t have the grime of an Inner West band, they do have the grit of a sandy beach. It’s not all sunshine and piña coladas – the beaches can get pretty stormy, after all.
Formed in September 2018, Henry introduced himself to Harris after school while waiting for a guitar lesson and they began to talk music. A week later they were jamming. Harris met Abby at a party in Coogee and learnt of that amazing voice of hers, and nek minnit three strangers had started a band together. Then came Jacko, a late addition to the band who, as Guerin so wonderfully put it, “has brought significant spices to our sound”.
There is a genuine mixture of thoughtfulness and youthful exuberance that emanates from the group’s indie folk sound. It is a heady mix, often missing in young bands. A lot of them overthink it or are just plain dumb. Carey St have found that wonderful balance between insightful lyrics and the most important thing about music: enjoyment. People want to be moved, both emotionally and physically. What’s the point if you can’t dance?
Citing Aussie indie contemporaries such as Lime Cordiale, The Middle Kids and DOPE LEMON as influences, they also casually drop The Go-Betweens, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd and most impressively, family, friends and the local community.
Guerin explains, “We’ve been super stoked with the support that’s available for young musicians and new bands in Sydney. One of our best experiences was playing at the MCA Genext in July last year. Considering the circumstances of the current COVID restrictions, we’ve also been pretty lucky to be able to sneak in a few gigs with another local band, Gully Days.”
For now, Carey St is waiting on a few members to finish high school (yep, I warned you they were young), before really embarking on the next step. They are currently working away in the studios recording some new songs, and are aiming to get an EP out early next year. So, keep an eye and an ear out, and in the meantime, check them out on Spotify or iTunes, they’ve got some bangers!