Carriers’ Sophomore LP Displays a Newfound Confidence » PopMatters

Carriers’ Curt Kiser enlists some notable musicians to bolster his unassuming style, which stands on the strength of some standout tracks. 

Every Time I Feel Afraid Carriers Brassland 2 May 2025

Curt Kiser’s Carriers returns with their sophomore effort, Every Time I Feel Afraid, released on the Dessner brothers’ Brassland Records. Kiser is Cincinnati through and through. Some tracks on his new record even feature the National‘s Bryan Devendorf on drums. Notably (and unrelated to the Queen City), the War on Drugs‘ Dave Hartley (bass) also performs on a handful of songs. These connections bolster the LP, but rather than being propped up, Every Time I Feel Afraid stands as a testament to Kiser’s continued commitment to playing music for a living.   

The record is another positive step for Carriers, as it showcases more sophisticated production and displays a newfound confidence. However, the songwriting can come across as overly consistent, as the tone remains unvaried and doesn’t necessarily leave listeners with something distinct. It runs the risk of being lumped in with many other artists who have artfully blended instrumentation with electronics. Is it like Boxer Rebellion? Yeah, it’s like that. So it’s not like the War on Drugs? No, it’s like that, too.   

As such, Kiser, with a pleasant vocal delivery that sometimes resembles Kevin Morby, keeps things even-keeled. The title track features a plugged-in acoustic guitar and studio-generated percussion, sounding strikingly similar to the sound David Gray perfected decades ago. An electric guitar hums in the background, but it never erupts, as the song comes to a dissonant close. Noteworthy flourishes do set some songs apart, such as the finger-plucking on “Sometimes” and the horns on “Blurry Eyes”. Not surprisingly, the quality of the album largely relies on the strength of those singles.   

Every Time I Feel Afraid meanders through what has been described as a “cosmic swirl of heartland hallucinations”. The downcast “Mixed Emotions” begins like a Wallflowers tune but leans into the artist’s somber tendencies, whether that be personal struggles (“Hey, you messed with my feelings / Fucked around with my head again”) or the trials of others (“People living the same / Some get caught up in the game / Nothing seems to matter when you’re in it”). That Midwest sense of longing can be felt in even the most upbeat songs, like the pulsating “Motion”.   

For an artist who openly shared his struggles to find confidence in his songwriting, Kiser’s choice to include a cover of Sharon Van Etten‘s “Every Time the Sun Comes Up” is curious. The mostly straightforward rendition is serviceable but does not enhance the album in any meaningful way. Van Etten gave Carriers a shout-out in the liner notes of Remind Me Tomorrow, and maybe Kiser felt the need to return the favor. In either case, a less obvious song or a more nontraditional cover might have been the better route, assuming it was needed at all.   

Despite Carrier’s melancholic tendencies, there is reason for hope. Kiser shared that he uses the album’s general sentiment as a mantra to get through a tough week, disclosing the details of some trying events that would knock most people down and out. A certain resilience can be heard throughout the record, especially when considering lyrics like “Well, it’s never gonna change if you don’t try.” Based on the strength of a handful of tracks, Every Time I Feel Afraid is well worth a listen. Overall, Carriers’ unassuming style can be endearing, if not for his honest take on his own insecurity.