Norwegian twosome Ask Carol rocked the house—a house show, to be specific—in Riverton, N.J., at the second show of its first U.S. tour as the duo gradually make its way back to SXSW.
Surrounded by amps and plants, Ask (on drums and guitar) and Carol (on guitar, floor tom, trombone, looping pedals and voice) coaxed a mighty sound out of their gear. Deftly playing with dynamics and blurring genre boundaries, they impressed with rifftastic songs from their debut, AC I: Control You, including “Tonight” and “Darkest Hour”; inspired newer material like “Desert”; and a pair of imaginative covers, an ethereal take on CSNY’s “Ohio” and a harder-edged reading of Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression.”
Between songs, Carol noted that she’d never really sung before starting this band, and that since she and Ask were both guitarists, he was learning new tricks behind the kit—but you’d never know any of that from her compelling vocals or his intuitive rhythms. Given their musical might, amiable ambition, inherent chemistry, keen aesthetic sensibility and easygoing charm, they’ll be blowing the roof off bigger houses soon.
—M.J. Fine; photos by Chris Sikich
