Zoe FitzGerald Carter Chaos by Design
Chaos by Design is the fourth album by singer-songwriter, journalist, and memoirist Zoe FitzGerald Carter. The album explores memories, connections, things we yearn for, and what we lose.
“Writing the songs on this album, I found myself talking with ghosts and coyotes (‘Cicadas,’ ‘Ghost,’ ‘White Coyote’), escaping into a mythological paradise (‘Arcadia’), and returning to the sepia-tinged world of childhood and adolescence (‘Pirates in the Woods,’ ‘Sarah’),” says Carter.
Some of the Bay Area’s leading musicians joined Carter on the album. Dawn Richardson (4 Non Blondes) played drums, Paul Olguin (Maria Muldaur) played bass, and Michael Papenburg (Petty Theft) played electric guitar, lap steel, and mandolin. Pam Delgado (Blame Sally) sang backing parts. Greg Sankovitch played piano and organ, Dan Cantrell played accordion, and Erik “Mr Tasty” Jakobson played trumpet.
Hannah Mayree, an emerging talent who founded the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, added banjo to “Ghost” and “Cicadas.” Recording took place in Sausalito at The Plant, now called 2200 Bridgeway, and in Berkeley at Ninth Street Opus and Fantasy Records. Jeffrey Wood, who previously ran Fantasy Studios, produced Chaos by Design, and Alberto Hernandez handled the sound recording.
“Melody,” a low-slung, pleasant song, opens the album. For some reason, this track evokes the ghosts of Judy Collins and John Denver with its sumptuous folk textures, soft, silky vocals, and graceful harmonies.
Highlighted by smooth, glowing harmonies, the title track features rumbling percussion and a gently braying organ. Talking about the song, Carter says, “‘Chaos by Design’ arrived with more urgency, asking me to consider some deeply uncomfortable questions like: Am I living my best life? Am I wasting my talent and my time? But what started with existential panic quickly turned to radical self-acceptance (‘If you told me I could be anyone, I’d still be me’).”
With its delicious undertone, “White Coyote” rolls and sways across pastel surfaces, mellow and laid-back yet dripping with sonic significance thanks to its elusive, alluring motion.
A velvety, shimmering intro invests “Sarah” with creamy, drawling movement. A crying steel guitar suffuses the melody with lonely hues. There’s an elegant beauty to Carter’s voice on this track, at once thoughtful and compassionate. Olguin’s bass, round and expressive, imbues the rhythm with splendid finesse.
“Pirates in the Woods” channels warm memories of Peter, Paul, and Mary. The melody is simple yet oh-so engaging.
According to Carter, “‘Pirates in the Woods’ was written with my good friend John Croizat. The song returns to an imagined childhood of games played in the woods with a best friend. It captures the comfort and nostalgia of an unfettered childhood: the endless games, the adventures with friends, as well as the parents who never forgot to call us home for dinner.”
Carter’s rendition of “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying” is wonderfully arranged: supple and elegantly sleek. A personal favorite, the closing track “Breathe Again,” sways lusciously on a Latin jazz-laced rhythm as a dazzlingly evocative trumpet adds a grand overlay.
Cogent melodies with eloquent lyrics, and Zoe FitzGerald’s easy-to-listen-to vocals make Chaos by Design worthy of attention.
Discover more about Zoe FitzGerald Carter here.
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: Interview: Zoe FitzGerald Carter’s Deep Dives Into Creativity Inspired Before The Machine