Until They Burn Me is an Americana and dark folk duo that balances grit, storytelling, and emotion in equal measure. Formed by longtime collaborators Cody Carlyle and Travis Jordan, the band has built a reputation for turning raw, shadowy themes into cinematic experiences. Their music blends folk-punk, Southern gothic, and roots rock with a poetic edge that feels lived-in and unfiltered. A Carnival of Reveries, released October 31, 2025, captures their most ambitious work yet, taking listeners through a surreal and emotional soundscape filled with haunted beauty and rough-edged honesty.

Track by Track Review

Dark & Deep

The album opens with an eerie calm that builds into something powerful. Acoustic guitars rumble under weathered vocals that sound like they’ve seen both sides of heartbreak. The lyric “Hell is dark and deep” sets the tone, grounding the song in a sense of danger and truth. It’s a haunting and fitting start.

To the Bone

Slower and more reflective, this track tells a story of faded fame and colder days. The arrangement is stripped back, which lets the vocals carry every ounce of pain. You can feel the ache in every line as it explores what happens when the light fades, but the soul keeps searching.

Licorice & Lollipops

This one breaks from the darkness with twisted humor and vivid imagery. The song mixes sweetness and decay, a balance of innocence and vice that feels both playful and tragic. Its carnival imagery fits the album’s theme perfectly, pulling the listener deeper into the strange world Until They Burn Me has created.

Dig Them Graves

Raw and percussive, this track stomps with grit and power. It’s part folk, part outlaw blues, and it’s as visceral as it gets. The chorus feels like a rallying cry, and you can almost hear boots hitting the floorboards as the story unfolds.

Night Passage of Painted Dog

This one drifts into atmospheric territory. The instrumentation feels dreamlike, almost cinematic, with the kind of space that invites reflection. It’s the quiet before the storm, a pause that adds emotional depth to the record.

Revealed to Him in the Wild

Here, the band’s storytelling shines brightest. The lyricism is spiritual and grounded, filled with nature and loneliness. The vocals float gently while the guitars shimmer with just enough texture to keep the mood alive.

White Devil

The energy surges again with a swaggering rhythm and sharp-edged guitar work. It’s dirty and confident, with a rebellious streak that feels earned. The lyrics dig into themes of guilt, violence, and identity, leaving you both unsettled and satisfied.

The Golden Motel Room

Easily one of the album’s most cinematic songs. It’s full of ghostly imagery and rich textures. The production feels wider here, as if you’re standing in that motel room with the lights flickering and secrets hanging in the air.

Josef K

The finale ties everything together. It’s dark, introspective, and literary, pulling references to Kafka’s world of confusion and consequence. The arrangement builds slowly, layering folk grit with atmospheric weight until it closes on a note that feels both tragic and freeing.

Final Thoughts

A Carnival of Reveries is a raw and captivating journey through the strange and soulful mind of Until They Burn Me. The duo captures the beauty of imperfection, turning grief, grit, and reflection into something deeply human. Each song adds a new layer to the world they’ve built, and by the end, you feel like you’ve walked through every shadow with them. This is Americana for those who prefer their folk haunted, poetic, and a little unhinged in the best possible way.

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