Carriers is the musical project of Cincinnati’s own Curt Kiser. He’s found support from local heroes the National, whose Dessner brothers have signed Carriers to their Brassland label for the release of new album Every Time I Feel Afraid and whose drummer Bryan Devendorf drums on new single “Blurry Eyes.” Also on the track is War On Drugs bassist Dave Hartley, and Drugs fans will probably dig the music’s hallucinatory heartland rock vibe. (A press release also accurately invokes Amen Dunes and Tom Petty.) Rounding out the prestige-indie all-star backing band, Ben Lanz — a collaborator with Beirut, the National, and Sufjan Stevens — also contributed to the song’s dreamy, Dylan-esque feel.

Kiser offered this statement:

I wrote “Blurry Eyes” right before the first live stream show I did on Instagram during the pandemic. What a wild thing that kept us all together while the world was shut down. It was a hard but also an incredibly special time to refocus on what really matters in life.

Right now is a weird time to be putting out music and promoting myself, but I’m grateful to share art during such a heavy time. I hope the songs find people when they need it most, and that they can provide some kind of solace — whether an escape from the situation, some magic in the atmosphere, or maybe a lyric to help them process what’s going on.

Notably, Every Time I Feel Afraid also includes a cover of Sharon Van Etten’s “Every Time The Sun Comes Up.” Hear “Blurry Eyes” below along with last month’s “Sometimes.”

TRACKLIST:
01 “In My Head”
02 “Motion”
03 “Sometimes”
04 “Blurry Eyes”
05 “Every Time I Feel Afraid”
06 “Share Some Wine”
07 “Mixed Emotion”
08 “Every Time The Sun Comes Up”
09 “Be The One”

Every Time I Feel Afraid is out 5/2 on Brassland. Pre-order it here.