“Music Must-Haves”
“Here we go. Another pretentious, musician-wannabe who thinks his musical expertise and knowledge gives him the right to share his gaudy opinion on some unknown album that he believes is genius.”
First of all, the previous claim, to some extent, is very true.
Welcome to the first post of “Music Must-Haves”! This is a blog that will explore many of incredible albums that I personally love and that you’ll want to add to your collection right now!
In all seriousness, I have always wanted to write reviews for certain albums. I have never sat down and committed to one article. I wanted to create a review for albums strictly in one genre that has been meaningful in my life.
I have always been someone who overthinks things. Someone who analyzes and picks apart something down to the core. In music, (and art in general) this has single-handedly made it impossible for me to look at someone’s work and say “sounds good” or “looks like a big red dot to me”.
That’s because I don’t think there should be a cap on creativity. No minimum or maximum. Any idea is worth much more than you think it might be.
In music, there are so many factors that can create a feeling or leave it’s listeners frozen in their shoes. I think the two most important factors that evoke such an experience are the lyrics and the instrumentation.
Songwriting is similar to that of writing a poem. It has rhythm, rhyme, and tempo. Each word and note is chosen carefully to create that experience.
Now, the early 2000s was not considered a time of creative genius, but one band in particular (I believe) did shine during this era of musical drought.
The band Carbon Leaf dominated the same folksy, rock crowd that was rooted in artists such as Dave Matthews Band, and Pat McGee. The Richmond, VA natives have a folk, Celtic-infused sound that could be heard in the pub down the street or in the large venue filled with half-drunk 30-somethings.
One of their albums that I’ve been neglecting all these years (because I’ve been bombarded with their top hits like ‘Life Less Ordinary’ and ‘The Boxer’ ; disclaimer: both these songs are amazing) is “Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat”.
This album is a melting-pot of endearing, careful instrumentation, happy-go-lucky lyrics, and a joyous feel to it. It’s an album that you want to jump in the car without a destination and let play from start to finish.
This album is ideal for autumn because of it’s driving feel. It inspires you to go drive the country side while the brown, yellow, and red leaves hit your windshield as you fly down the grass-lined roads.
Carbon Leaf definitely has something to offer for every kind of listener. By this I mean it caters to someone who listens to music to have something to jam to and also to more intentional listeners who sit back and carefully pick apart each and every second of every song.
To not get too poetic or pretentious, the up-and-down tempos that each song offers on this album creates a sense of change. The lead singer almost discovers the essence of this “season” he seems to be going through. He goes through hardships, relationships, and self-discoveries and captures it all in this album.
So, this fall, when you are day-tripping to the local apple orchard or riding through the mountains give this album a try and I promise you will not be too disappointed (idk you guys might like it or not).
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Spotify: This is a link to my playlist compiled of my personal favorites from Carbon Leaf check it out!
https://open.spotify.com/user/1290891092/playlist/4FPs0QlqX1NGV6g3GMkGHF?si=MHTpYujeQC6S6mIIKsrkeQ
