Carolyn AlRoy

Carolyn AlRoy sings tasteful folk-rock in a still, small wisp of a voice. Her songs are filled with romantic longings, in addition to commentaries on those annoying miscommunications that occur in relationships...AlRoy’s music ought to appeal to fans of Shawn Colvin and Mary Lou Lord, because she creates thoughtful musical moments centered around the female perspective on love.
- Dan MacIntosh, Indie-Music.com, October 2006 - October 2006

About four songs into Gorgeous Enormous, you may feel like you know everything there is to expect from Carolyn AlRoy and her pop-folk sound. Then on the fifth track, “Valentine’s Day,” she’ll launch into a beautiful, classic waltz, and defy every stereotype you set for her. She’ll knock down even more walls in “Sound of Revolution,” which lands far from pop or folk and smack dab in the middle of alternative rock. You’ll see “Helter Skelter” on the CD jacket and quickly dismiss it as another futile attempt by an artist to cover a Beatles classic. Yet, AlRoy will surprise once again with a hushed, unique, remarkable remake. And, oh yeah, AlRoy’s pop-folk tunes, which are still the backbone of Gorgeous Enormous, are sweet and catchy -- highlighted by “Do You Know What I Mean,” “Italian Parsley” and “The Reality Song.” At times, the Hoboken, N.J. singer/songwriter will fit comparisons to the Cowboy Junkies or Patty Griffin. Other times she’ll fit comparisons to Lisa Loeb. But she will never perfectly fit any stereotype.
-- Ryan Chatelain, Marked Magazine, October 2006 - October 2006

Indie folk rock artist CAROLYN ALROY has provided MySpace listeners with two delightful tracks: “Waiting for the Light,” reminiscent of Cowboy Junkies, yet softer and smoother, and “The Reality Song,” that’s a bit more upbeat and rock’n’roll based. Both songs are very pleasant to listen to, with the instruments accenting the vocals perfectly. If you’re looking for a taste of something soft rock based, yet still has the appeal of a singer/songwriter, CAROLYN ALROY is the perfect artist for you to check out.
- Wednesday Electra, Space Junkies, July 2006 - July 2006

AlRoy treats the author of “Helter Skelter” more like Steve Earle...It's a nice clean record with good hooks and tags that keeps the listeners attention. It's a consistent debut.
- File Under (Dutch publication), July 2006 - July 2006

Carolyn AlRoy’s debut is fresh and sweet pop songs. Opener “Do You Know What I Mean” features her lovely vocals and ringing guitars. It’s a real gem. “The Reality Song” has a neat melody and a great vocal. “Waiting for the Light” is a delicate ballad, that exposes AlRoy’s vocals in a soft setting. The cover of the Beatles “Helter Skelter” is pretty amazing. AlRoy recreates the primal howl as a lounge song, and it works well. So many have covered Beatles tunes, but few have done it this well. “You Belong to Me” ends the album, a standard from the fifties that is given a nice remake. It is a thoroughly likeable and sweet album.
- Anna Maria Stjarnell, Collected Sounds: A Guide to Women in Music, December 2005 - December 2005

An auspicious, absolutely gripping full-length debut by this excellent NY area underground songwriter. It’s also an enormously gorgeous production job by rocker Matt Keating – who contributes his trademark incisive, melodic lead guitar and bass – and engineer Adam Lasus. This album has a lush yet immediate feel with its layers of guitars tastefully augmented by piano, accordion and strings...Musically, it blends midtempo, jangly guitar rock with a couple of sad accordion-driven waltzes, some quieter acoustic fare and a couple of covers, one of them astonishingly imaginative. AlRoy is a strikingly original, terse lyricist whose jabs and darts never fail to find their mark, which is all the more impressive considering that she got her start not in music but in the uber-pretentious New York poetry scene. As a singer, she distinguishes herself with an unwavering sense of melody and a highly nuanced, breathy delivery that blends the stoic resignation of a teenage Marianne Faithfull...The album’s central, recurring theme: the narrator of most of these songs is valiantly trying to come across as a blithe spirit, but no matter how hard she tries she can’t hide the fact that she’s skipping along the edge of a bottomless pit of despondency. Whoever she is, a semi-autobiographical character or a completely fictitious one, she’s mesmerizing. She draws you in and keeps you guessing – and actually giving a damn - whether she’s going to make it past the pit without falling in and disappearing...The cd concludes with two covers. The first is a brilliant reinterpretation of Helter Skelter that recasts the old proto-metal warhorse as a drunkenly seductive after-hours torch song, followed by a solo acoustic version of the old pop standard You Belong to Me...“Gorgeous Enormous” is aptly titled.
- Alan Young, Trifectagram, December 1, 2005 - December 2005

AlRoy is a practicing therapist, and her day job obviously inspires some of her lyrics. For example, on the pensive "My First Mistake," she laments, "My first mistake was to make myself small, so that you wouldn’t be jealous at all." But don’t be scared away from this gem of a pop album, as there are happier moments and a variety of styles. The acoustic "Italian Parsley" sports a jaunty, understated vibe, and "The Reality Song" would not be out of place in an old Western. The slow and meandering "Valentines Day" is distinguished by violin, cello and accordion. AlRoy is perhaps at her most poetic here, noting that, "Silence hung between us like a golden thread." The buoyant, pop radio-friendly "He’s Amazing" expresses the sheer joy and awe of falling in love (even if you’re not sure it’s the right person). AlRoy is equally at home amid the heavy guitar of the edgy, punk-like "Sound of Revolution" and the violin and accordion on "Waiting for You to Be Born," a mother-to-be’s sweet lullaby. The album closes with two covers. AlRoy’s almost whispered vocals on the Beatles classic "Helter Skelter" are slowed down to the point where the music is almost unrecognizable, changing your idea of the song immeasurably (in a good way). On the slow, country-tinged, plaintive standard "You Belong to Me," she confirms what the listener already knows by the end of the disc: that she is a gifted musician who will not be cubbyholed into one style. I’m looking forward to her sophomore effort already. (Review by Karen Duda) - Summer 2006

...I hear hints of The Breeders in AlRoy’s vocals. The compositions are simple and allow listeners that might not be that knowledgeable about music to appreciate the track...Something that should draw listeners in to AlRoy’s web is her compelling vocal style. It is very humble, and does not feel full of itself. [The songs] are done in a way that emphasize a certain quaintness...This makes AlRoy fundamentally different from anyone else on the market, and it is this difference that should make copies of “Gorgeous Enormous” fly off of the shelves. AlRoy is[‘nt] locked into a general style. For example, “Valentines Day”... relies on a tempo and overall sound that feels much older [than the other songs on the album] (...1920s-feeling)...there are minute things present throughout all of AlRoy’s tracks that should be impressive to fans of all stripes. I don’t expect metal fans to pick up this album, but for anyone that is appreciative of good pop and indie-based rock, “Gorgeous Enormous” may just be the able to pick up for August of 2006. AlRoy is a surprising (relative) new-comer to the scene; give her a chance! Top Tracks: He’s Amazing, Italian Parsley
--James McQuiston, Neufutur, August 10, 2006 - August 2006