lambchops's Full Review: Indian Summer by Carbon Leaf
Carbon Leaf is precariously perched atop a precipice between obscurity and fame. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia and formed in 1992, the band makes appealing music which blends beautiful and easy melody with roots rock and even the occasional Celtic twist. It is hard not to find something attractive about the band and their fourth album Indian Summer.
Indian Summer is the band’s first step into non-indie territory thanks to label Vanguard. Their first four releases (1995's Meander, 1997’s Shadows in the Banquet Hall, 1999’s Ether-Electrified Porch Music, and 2001’s Echo Echo) were all released on the band’s own label, Constant Ivy. The five-piece band consists of vocalist Barry Privett, guitarist Terry Clark, Jordan Medas on bass, guitarist Carter Gravatt, and finally drummer Scott Milstead. I won’t say that the band’s sound or their music is anything revolutionary or new or crazy, but sometimes an album just feels right. Indian Summer is one of those kinds of releases.
Produced by none other than David Lowery (former member of both Caper Van Beethoven and Cracker) and John Morand (previously worked with Sparklehorse, Guster and Cracker), Carbon Leaf’s fourth album is tailor made for radio success. Not just that, but they make high quality music worthy of an audience to boot.
Since you’ve probably never heard of Carbon Leaf, and if you have you’d only probably heard song lead-off single Life Less Ordinary it is easiest to compare them to similar though better known bands—Counting Crows, Grant Lee Buffalo (and for that matter Grant Lee Phillips), and Cracker. Like these bands, Carbon Leaf is on one level straight forward pop-rock. But at the same time, they meld enough folk, storytelling, and lucidity to hold my oft fickle attention.
While it the crystalline mid-tempo Life Less Ordinary that was chosen as the band’s first single (as has subsequently been added to various playlists around the country) the band’s talent is better showcased elsewhere on Indian Summer. In fact, the bands seems to peak somewhere around the midpoint of the album. Between Changeless and This Is My Song! mark the first moments at which I realize Carbon Leaf really has something fantastic to offer. But it is Grey Sky Eyes that I can honestly and completely believe will be a hit. Another mid-tempo pop-rock song, it in addition to having a lovely melody also is beautifully performed and produced.
I’m not particularly impressed by the somewhat chaotic and moderately repetitive (though by no means bad) Raise the Roof though the trio of song that follows is impressive. Paloma, One Prairie Outpost and most importantly Let Your Troubles Roll By are the highpoints of Indian Summer. Paloma is a driving ballad. It starts out innocently enough, but as it progresses the penny whistle, rich percussion, and fantastic vocals all come together perfectly. Paloma is a timeless kind of pop. Very much the same thing goes for One Prairie Outpost.
However, Let Your Troubles Roll By is the best and my favorite song here. Carbon Leaf concentrates heavily on the beat which really drives the melody (ala Robbie Williams in fact). The harmonies, unconventional instruments, and obvious attention to detail all lend well to the overall excellent picture offered up by the track.
Both When I’m Alone and The Sea are also good songs, though I am particularly fond of the dramatic of The Sea. In any case, Indian Summer is one of those rare albums that finishes up stronger than it begins. Bands often make the tragic mistake of lumping all of their best material at the start of an album and wrapping it up with what can only be classified as filler. Carbon Leaf commits no such folly—their album is consistently good but even better toward the end.
Whether or not Carbon Leaf receives the attention it deserves is questionable but regardless of that I can’t help but recommend this good and nearly excellent album. And if anybody out there with any amount of control over which song is released as a single next is reading, please do yourself a favor and give either Let Your Troubles Roll By or Grey Sky Eyes a chance.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Life Less Ordinary
02. What About Everything?
03. Changeless
04. This Is My Song!
05. Grey Sky Eyes
06. Raise the Roof
07. Paloma
08. One Prairie Outpost
09. Let Your Troubles Roll By *
10. When I’m Alone
11. The Sea
A custom-blend of rock, Celtic and bluegrass, paired with great harmonies, lyrical insight and diverse arrangements, Carbon Leaf is a band on the verg...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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