Pat Carter “Love in the Time of Capitalism”

Socialist americana with powerful and empathetic words on the casualties of capitalism.

Berlin-based Pat Carter is the “driving force” behind indie americana band Rodeo FM, who have produced four albums, with the last one being “Right Wing Planet” in 2023. This is his first solo album, with him writing all the words and music in early 2025. Musically, it is not a great departure from his work with Rodeo FM, being a selection of songs that are not usually country music, but are often coloured with a country or soul flavour- an americana melting pot. It’s singer-songwriting reminiscent of Peter Bruntnell but with this extra bit of americana added skilfully to give a fuller musical experience and to make it all the more interesting and enjoyable. The tracks aren’t as immediate as with some artists, but they grow on you over time.

Carter has “established his own niche genre- left-wing country” and has been influenced by Marxist writers such as David Harvey and Gregoire Chamayou. With phrases such as “the rich will always cheat the poor” and “the position he was given was to sell his soul for someone else’s greed”, it is clear which side of the fence he is on. Having said that, the words on the album are less overtly political than those of other left-wing artists such as Billy Bragg. There is nothing here like ‘Power In A Union’ about the actions that might be taken to secure justice. The words instead often deal with the personal experiences of people at the bottom of society’s pile, hit by life’s cruelties and with mental health problems, PTSD or dealing with violence, for example. There are also a number of tales of relationships, so quite like Bragg in that sense.

‘Here’s to You’, the opener, gives a good sense of the album. With gentle guitar picking, which is heard elsewhere, Carter wishes three traumatised people well. One had been abused, one “forced to play a part in someone else’s war”, and another had lost a friend to heroin. Carter shows care, concern and empathy for them as he does for others in difficulty on many of the tracks. Simple quotes don’t really do his work justice- on each track, an engaging picture is painted as a whole, and you find yourself engrossed in the characters or the story.

The second track, ‘Gentle & Honest’, starts with Billy Bragg’s guitar but then organ and brass flow in to give it some soul. It’s a break-up song, addressed to a former lover. Throughout the album, you feel that Carter has had difficulties himself – hence his empathy with the troubled characters in his songs- and that this has led to problems in his relationships. He himself also points a finger at capitalist society for some of these problems: “Capitalism sells us the illusion of endless options while making real connection nearly impossible”.

Beautiful pedal steel comes up often to enhance many of the tracks, and there are also dobro and banjo added at times to give a country feel. However, only ‘Street Corner’ and the Townes-like closer ‘What about trouble’, with Carter solo picking, are firmly country songs. Away from country music, variety comes on the album from the organ-based pop of ‘Ask Me’ and the rock of ‘Xenia, Ohio’, which reminds you of Tom Petty, one of Carter’s influences.

The gripping and touching words, which would interest even those who are not socialist (though not perhaps any Daily Express readers out there), and the satisfying music, make this one of the albums of the year.