The core of “All The Good Things” came to Carson Barker all at once. He describes the song as a plea to people who are struggling with the current times not to give up, and the way The Schisms built it matches that message. Barker and producer Stuart Sikes pulled the song apart and rebuilt it over and over, until, in Barker’s words, it came out “bruised and beaten, but with its head up high.” The Austin trio released it on September 25th as the second single from their EP Tejas.
I would describe this as space rock, and it sounds a little like David Bowie to me. It is very psychedelic, and the textures here are intriguing, which has to be owed in part to Grammy-winning producer Stuart Sikes, whose credits include The White Stripes, Cat Power and Loretta Lynn. Aside from the beauty of the sound and the production, the composition itself is very dynamic and has a great live feel. The instruments lock in rhythmically together, with synchronized rhythmic hits that highlight the melodies.
The Schisms are Barker on vocals, guitar and noise, Goose McCollum on bass, keys and vocals, and Michael Stockton on drums and vocals. Across Tejas, they draw on early rock ‘n’ roll, punk, psychedelia and goth, making music rooted in Texas yet restless within it. The EP was written partly during a winter Barker spent alone in a one-bedroom cabin in the Colorado mountains and partly in the studio with Sikes, trading some of the darkness of their previous album, Moon, for music meant to lift its listeners.
It also marks a change in how the band works. Barker wrote and recorded each instrumental part himself before sharing the songs with McCollum and Stockton for their input. The title Tejas nods to the friendship between the three members, who grew up in the same town, and to their Texas roots. “All The Good Things” follows the EP’s first single, “I Learn To Love,” and Tejas arrived on October 2nd. For anyone who likes their psychedelic rock with real momentum, it’s a strong entry point into the record.