"The music is entirely captivating. It reminded me of stripped-down Tom Waits. Just an accordion, a tenor sax, an upright bass, and a guitar is all the band needs to make this musical an extravaganza. Uncle Moon seamlessly changes from toe-tapping to heart-sapping and the actors adjust in stride." - nytheatre.com (Architecture of Sight)
"cheerful, quirky score" - New York Times (You Are In An Open Field)
"Riehl's music is terrific" - nytheatre.com (Laika Dog In Space)
"great tunes" - Stagebuzz.com (Laika Dog In Space)
“Carl Riehl’s clever score evokes the feel of a French bistro, punctuates and informs the entire play, and helps communicate the old man’s emotions — chagrin, loneliness, astonishment and, most of all, joy.” - njarts.net (Balloonacy)
"Before the show begins there is a delirious haunted house-style aural montage. Creaking doors, screeching cats, howling wolves, eerie humming by children and spooky music are repeated. Carl Riehl’s accomplished sound design is equally as atmospheric throughout the presentation." - theaterscene.net (Night of the Living N-Word!!)
“Uncle Moon exists in that other world where the Velvet Underground might be playing at your Junior High Halloween Party. It's a world where violins and accordions are heavier than Metallica and where stream of consciousness spoken word rants are more rock and roll than Robert Plant. It's a beautiful, sweet, wonderfully melodic world that is only slightly disturbed and slightly disturbing. It's a very nice place to visit and it's good that they want to live there.” - Michael Cerveris
“Homestyle is sincere and convincing throughout. In each genre they tackle, the musicians use their instruments as extensions of their personalities, demonstrating serious prowess in their ability to access the genres within the context of their acoustic format, while never attempting to reproduce them." – Bill Carbone (New Haven Advocate)
“I wish I could hear it again for the first time.” - CDBaby (reviewing Uncle Moon's Homestyle)
Check out my interview on Greenroom Conversations: The Process Unplugged