Carriers Drop Soaring New Single "Motion"
- Josh Kitchen
- Mar 25
- 2 min read
By: Josh Kitchen / March 25, 2025
"I need motion/part the ocean/walk us through/crescent moon," Carriers' Curt Kiser sings on his soaring and infectious new single, "Motion. Kiser is a son of Cincinnati, and over the past few years, he's become a true hometown hero. Don't believe me? Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals who invited Kiser and his father to play on the field during Monday Night Football. Over the past five years, Kiser has been releasing earnest and poignant indie rock gems, under the moniker, Carriers, and on May 2, he'll release his second studio album, Every Time I Feel Afraid on Brassland Records. (founded by Alec Hanley Bemis, and fellow Cincinnatians Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National.)
Kiser is a member of The National family, having played on their most recent records, and National drummer Bryan Devendorf plays drums on the new record. Preceded by the great singles, "Blurry Eyes," "Sometimes," and the album's title cut, for many artists it would be easy to put out another single that sounded more in line with what came before it. "Motion," released today, proves that Kiser is not content with sitting still with one sound. "Motion" is more reminiscent of great 80's power ballads from A-ha or Peter Gabriel. While "Sometimes" is Kurt Vile-esque in its sound, and lyrically Kiser opens up about his insecurities, "Motion" is an upbeat prayer where he refuses to settle for a life that cannot be changed.
Kiser tells me of "Motion," and the tracks on Everytime I Feel Afraid, "They're love songs and prayers, kind of like anxiety ballads. They're me trying to hang on to hope and faith in a pretty fucked up world." Kiser repeats his reference to a crescent moon over and over in "Motion," and it's hard not to think of the possibilities and hope that can be found by looking at the stars above us. He references stars in the previous single "Sometimes," as well. Kiser tells me that it's meaning can be up to interpretation, but that an illustration his dad did for him that hung up in his room growing up, a crescent moon with a face holding a Telecaster guitar, held a lot of meaning. One can look to Kiser and his dad's Monday Night Football jam in Cincinnati and feel good knowing we're all just moving in motion to our destinations, guided by the light of a crescent moon.
Every Time I Feel Afraid is out out on May 2 on Brassland Records. Listen to Motion below, and watch the new music video directed by Romain Mayambi.
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