Carbon Tigers

Chicago's Carbon Tigers is a four-piece who emit an angular and ambient style of pop/rock. Massive builds are the trigger for their explosive, effected noise. Dropping to a four-piece and cycling a few instruments throughout a set highlights the broad influence and use of guitar styles. Hacking, jittery geometric bits give way to smooth, ear-pleasing chord progressions and familiar strum patterns.

Chris' sensible, instrumental vocals cover and soothe the bands at times jarring sounds. Transitioning from head-shaking grooves to lush art rock cadence in an instant, The Wars at Home EP is their most recent release and the best they've yet written. - Audiotree

Here at Last.fm HQ, we listen to a lot of music. Occasionally something catches our ear and stands out as something special. In Discovery of the Week, our staff bring you their personal picks and recommendations from their hours and hours of sifting through new music. This week, Bryan VanGelder (aka bryanrecommends) brings you Carbon Tigers.
We get a lot of music across our desks here at Last.fm Originals… I mean… A LOT. Go figure, right? A lot of the time it’s moreso for the sake of ‘homework’ in order to get ready to go film a Session with a band, or do research on behalf of an interview production, and so on. But every once in a while it’s nice to get something legitimately new with absolutely no pre-conceived notions. Maybe I am biased since I have a real soft-spot for the city of Chicago, but this was exactly one of those instances where I was able to listen to some music and not immediately consider it “work.”
Hailing from Chicago, Carbon Tigers is an indie band of hometown heroes who have proven their group determination on top of immense musical skill. The band released their new EP The Wars at Home on Nov. 19th, mixed by Mike Watts (As Tall As Lions) and mastered by Ed Brooks (Death Cab For Cutie, Minus The Bear). They have since made their mark on the Brooklyn Vegan stage at Lollapalooza and sold out shows with Cold War Kids, Gold Motel, Maps & Atlases, Further Seems Forever, and Biffy Clyro all the while preparing for their new EP The Wars At Home!
Carbon Tigers consists of Chris Wienke (vocals/guitar/bass), Nick Cudone (guitar/vocals), Aaron Sweatt (bass/guitar/keys/vocals), and Darien Williams (drums/vocals). After the band’s 2011 release of The Dove Sessions, the band snuggled into their concrete cocoon to write their newest record. The Wars At Home, musically speaking, pushes the contrast of pop and art-rock with its catchy vocal hooks over odd time signatures and melodic guitar lines.
Carbon Tigers are being heralded as Chicago’s answer to Seattle’s sexy math rockers Minus the Bear. I feel this is a more than appropriate equation with their sonic appeal. A mix of math, indie, ambient and experimental-pop hooks tie together a sensual mash-up of slow-burning grooves. Hell, in the last track on the record they go almost full-blown fuzz-box shoegaze … and it fits perfectly.
Fans of Radiohead, The Fray and Incubus will dig some of the heavy-handed sound, while songwriters and lyricists are going to have a moment of clarity when they hearken back to Bon Iver‘s For Emma, Forever Ago.Their brand new video for the lead track from The Wars at Home: “Everybody Else” premieres today and you can watch it here on Last.fm Originals. - Last.FM

Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Everybody Else," a new song by indie-rockers Carbon Tigers.

The track is from the band's new five-song EP, The Wars At Home, which will be released November 19.

The EP, which was mixed by Mike Watts (As Tall As Lions) and mastered by Ed Brooks (Death Cab For Cutie, Minus The Bear), is about self-discovery and growth — at least before it turns dark and tells tales of destruction, love and competition.

Carbon Tigers is Chris Wienke (vocals, keys, guitar), Nick Cudone (guitar, keys, vocals), Aaron Sweatt (bass, guitar, volals) and Darien Williams (drums, vocals). After the band’s 2010 release, The Burrows, they snuggled into their concrete cocoon to write The Wars At Home.

The EP pushes the contrast of pop and art-rock with its catchy vocal hooks over odd time signatures and melodic guitar lines. Producer Jonathan Alvin (Bailiff, Archie Powell and the Exports) helped the band shape the sound of the EP with vocal producer Gabe Liebowitz at Chrome Attic Studios in Crystal Lake, Illinois. - Guitar World

Imagine if Queens of the Stone Age teamed up with Thrice and then that supergroup convinced Tool’s Maynard Keenan or Live’s Ed Kowalczyk to lend them vocals…can you hear it? Well, that’s kinda what “The Harvest” by Carbon Tigers sounds like, but a little more growly. Like maybe if Neil Fallon from Cluch or Phil Anselmo from Pantera mixed the record. Oh, speaking of the record, their brand new EP The Wars At Home comes out tomorrow!

We got an early listen to the new tracks and begged the dudes for a preview, so it is with great pleasure that we present to you “The Harvest.” This is the last of five songs on the EP, and it’s head-nod heavy with four minutes of bass driven punch. The breakdown at three minutes is so epic we tried to crowd surf through fashion closet and convince the editorial team to participate in a mini-pit. There are some pretty songs on this EP, but this song is not one of them–this one right here is the heavy one. - NYLON Guys

We know November means a lot of hitting the road, from trips to Thanksgiving dinners to weekend escapes to experience fall in all its hot cider glory, and we also know that every good road trip needs a soundtrack. That's why we're stoked to premiere "The Wars at Home" by Chicago-based band Carbon Tigers.

The four man band recorded "The Wars at Home," the title track off their upcoming EP out November 19, in July 2013 which explains the wistful summery daze the track will likely send you into. Even if the song is catchy as hell, it deals with that inner turmoil we've all got boiling inside when faced with a new situation. Singer/guitarist, Chris Wienke explains, "This song is about the forces that pull your heart in every direction when you make a big move in life. Sometimes it's hard to reconcile the decision to create a change, but ultimately the love of those around you proves to trump all doubt; and those moves often become the best things that ever happen to you."

Take a listen to the pop-y, rock-y, awesome-y track below while you plan your next big move. Picking out new shoes counts as a major life decision, right? We think so. - NYLON Magazine

Sometimes a disc takes you by complete surprise, taking you on a journey that satisfies from start to finish. The Wars at Home EP, the latest release from Chicago’s Carbon Tigers is such a disc. The EP opens with the inviting “Everybody Else,” a lingering cut with gleaming guitars and plaintive vocals from Chris Wienke. The disc segues quickly into the title track, a taut, pensive and expertly crafted tour-de-force that firmly represents Carbon Tigers as a band to watch out for in 2014.

Similarly, “Ishmael” starts slowly before shuffling into a hip-shaking, head-bobbing chorus. Arguably the most accessible of the first three cuts, “Ishmael” is the band’s golden ticket and the first moment in which Carbon Tigers shows an ability to make a serious dent in the months and years to come. The placid and slow-building “Queen” is the band’s ballad, a respite and chance for the band to take a breather as well as prove their diversity. At this point, the disc has been nothing short of lush, glimmering and spellbinding, so when clattering guitars open up “The Harvest,” the entire experience is both jarring, uncomfortable and a bit surprising.

Easily the heaviest song on the EP, “The Harvest” is a chance for the band to flex their muscles. That decision though is a misstep as the band seems to focus more on sonic density than their collective talents. To some the song may work but on an album of sweeping, Coldplay-inspired efforts, the song is wonky to say the least. That small gripe aside, The Wars at Home is an absolute home-run and easily one of the best EPs released this year. - AbsolutePunk