New England Folk and Roots Music Publication

New England Folk and Roots Music Publication

InterviewsMusic Features

Singled Out: The Lied To’s “Cruel World”

 
 
From: Boston, MA
Song: “Cruel World” 
Latest record: The Lesser of Two Evils (Out May 11th)
What about it: “As I write this, my dad is in the hospital in very serious condition.  The song covers all the things like that which make life very difficult, especially if you have less armor than others.  Bad luck, people doing you wrong, being poor – I’m sure these are things that many of us can relate to, especially today.  It’s personal and universal. So this song is a big F-U to all that. My songs on this record are more cynical than Susan’s (Levine), my partner and the other Lied To.  Hers have just a little bit more hope in them, thank goodness.  One of my favorite things about this song is Susan’s vocal performance.  Normally she’s closer to Dolly or Emmylou, but she was recovering from laryngitis when we recorded it, and you can hear the grit mixed with a whole lot of attitude.  It’s perfect.” – Doug Kwartler
 
 

 
More? “We’re very much looking forward to our national record release on May 11th and the fact that this album, The Lesser of Two Evils, feels like an evolution for us in terms of our sound, our career and our development as a duo.  We’re looking forward to reaching more people and different audiences.   We also have some cool gigs coming up in places we’ve never played in and around New England and we’ll probably get down to Nashville to once again play at The Bluebird Café, we always have a blast down there. “
 

Brian Carroll

Brian Carroll is the founder of Red Line Roots. He is a Massachusetts native that got his start as a musician in the very community he now supports.