Carley’s Wreck and Ruin is Making a Scene

January 12, 2026

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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Carley’s Wreck and Ruin

Carley’s Wreck and Ruin is a British blues duo with a dark, unmistakable edge. Their sound is raw, primitive, and haunted — a mix of gritty blues and trashy roots that feels like it crawled up from somewhere old and restless.

Their influences stretch wide and strange. You can hear the ghost of 1930s Delta blues, the gospel fire of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the occult weight of Black Sabbath, the theatrical madness of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the witchy mystique of Stevie Nicks, the spiritual power of Robert Plant, the rock ’n’ roll swagger of Wanda Jackson, the mandolin traditions of Bill Monroe, and the raw attack of rockabilly and punk. Threaded through it all are echoes of old country music and British folk that leak into the sound whether they’re invited or not.

The duo is built around Jo Carley and Tim Carley. Jo handles vocals, mandolin, washboard, percussion, and keys. Tim plays battered archtop guitar, kick drum, distorted vintage amps, and backing vocals, sometimes adding rattling foot percussion for extra drive. Together they describe their sound as “trashy roots on junkyard instruments — raw, rhythmic, and possessed by something older than rock ’n’ roll.”

Jo and Tim connected through a shared obsession with live music and a lifelong fascination with the strange, the folkloric, and the occult. Instead of running from that darkness, they leaned into it. Their journey pulled them backward into the roots of early blues, where they found the source material that fed their favorite music. From that place, Carley’s Wreck and Ruin was born.

Before forming the duo, Jo and Tim spent nearly a decade touring the UK and Europe with their previous band, Jo Carley & The Old Dry Skulls. That time on the road helped them shape their dark roots style and build a loyal underground following. Eventually they left London for the windswept east coast, settling into a crooked seaside shack they lovingly call “The Voodoo Shack,” where much of their current work now takes shape.

Their debut single, “In My Time of Dying,” is set for release on September 23, followed by a series of singles leading up to a full debut album in 2026. In December 2025, they will also be joining Reverend Beat-Man for select dates on his UK tour, bringing their gritty, possessed live show to new audiences.

Carley’s Wreck and Ruin isn’t about polish or perfection. It’s about atmosphere, history, and something just a little dangerous — blues dragged through the dirt, shaken awake, and set loose again.

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