The scene is set, a dog enters an unknown car leaving everything they know behind.  Their world is full with possibility moving forward, but there are certainly a lot of fears.  What do I do now? Where do I go from here?  These are questions we often ask ourselves whenever we take big risks in our lives.  This is the backdrop to start the new Carly Cosgrove record.  An album dealing with depression, anxiety, self loathing, self discovery, and self acceptance. 

When Carly Cosgove’s new album, “The Cleanest of Houses are Empty,”  was announced I was extremely excited.  I was a big fan of the bands last record, “See You in Chemistry.”  It was Naylor’s unique vocal delivery that initially brought me to the band, he often reminds me of Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line, which happens to be one of my all time favorite pop punk bands.  There’s something very special about watching a band about to pop off.  Being signed to Wax Bodega and being part of the thriving, new, post emo scene, this album was set to be a success. 

As the title of the album suggests, the lyrics of this record focus heavily on loneliness and isolation.  With lines like “Nothing bothers you when you don’t know what’s happening.  What apathy? Are you mad at me? It doesn’t matter in bed,” from “Fluff my Pillow”.  On “We Don’t want Your Cookies” Naylor focused on using this isolation to improve himself.  “Get off my lawn, I want everybody gone, I mean everybody gone. So I can come back good for you.”  Here there is a hopefulness of using this separation from other people to improve one’s mental health.  

Instrumentally the record takes a minimalist approach.  There is almost no overdubbed lead guitar on the record, instead the band has put to tape a true “trio” record. The arrangements are sparse and leave a lot of space on the mix for the vocals to cut through.  Given the lyrical content of the record this was likely an intentional decision.  

The back half of the record contains some fantastic ballad type songs.  “Stuck in my Straw” is the first of these that comes to mind.  The song features a really beautiful vocal melody, over acoustic guitars and soft drums.  The song builds nicely throughout and sees the singer reflecting on the person he used to be.  Using a metaphor of replacing his old flesh with new flesh which represents the new person he is going to be moving forward.   The song explodes at the end and really hits this lyrical theme with strong intensity. 

Another great softer cut is the Death Cab for Cutie influenced, “The Impact of this Exit.”  This is one of the songs that really shows that Carly Cosgrove isn’t just another midwest emo band.  This song features a really bouncy bass line over melancholic chords.  Lyrically the song sees the narrator having a discussion with himself, trying to convince himself that he is “a winner.”  

Of course the record also has some fantastic higher energy songs as well.  My personal favorite being, “What Are You, A Cop?”  The track utilizes dissonant guitar chords, mixed with crunchy bass and could be the bands best up tempo song to date.  This song also sees the band pushing further into alt rock territory and away from the Midwest emo sound they’re known for.  Also there’s, “Here’s a Fork” which starts with driving bass and drums and breaks into a very infectious verse and chorus.  This song is everything you’d want from an upbeat emo banger. 

Carly Cosgrove’s sophomore output is a well crafted emo rock album that draws from all eras of the genre.  I still believe we haven’t heard the bands best work.  Carly Cosgrove has a bright future ahead of them and I can’t wait to continue to watch them grow. 

Rating: 8.1/10 

Release date: 6/14/24

Track List: 

Steered Straight

You Old Dog

We Don’t Want Your Cookies

Here’s A Fork

Fluff My Pillow

Zoloft

Random Dancing

Stuck In My Straw

What Are You, A Cop? 

The Impact Of This Exit

North Star Bar 

Reviewed by Bryan Williams