Customer Reviews

Carnival

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a phenomenal album that grows stronger w/each listen. From the opening, hypnotic "Colour of a Carnival" to the closing, heartfelt "Don't Look So Sad," there's nary a weak track. And while it's true that Kasey has eschewed some of the alt.country underpinnings of her previous works for a more mainstream approach, there's still plenty of twang here - "Light up a Candle," "Hard Road" and the hypnotic "Railroad," which chugs along a la Lucinda Williams' "Joy," wouldn't be out of place on her earlier albums. Other highlights include the rollicking "I Got You Now" and the absolutely divine "You Make Me Sing" ... plus "Dangerous," which - as all the songs here, actually - features a mesmerizing vocal. Perhaps that's why the change in sonic colourings almost seems a moot point. Her voice is such an expressive instrument that, regardless of context, you come away entranced. I do, at any rate.

Kasey is back with a new cd. She's stepped farther way from her country and alt/country roots and approached the rock-tinged, singer/songwriter sound with her considerable song writing talents intact. She's accomplished this with more success and sincerity than either the Dixie Chicks or Allison Moorer did in their recent releases.

Kasey's voice is as expressive and varied as ever--she can purr and she can wail (much like one of her most important influences-Nanci Griffith). She can be sad, she can be sexy, she can be exceedingly poignant. Nash Chambers has produced again and given Kasey a backdrop of electric guitars and percussion to sing against. She never gets lost, staying front and center on every song. Acoustic instruments do make strategic and affecting appearances-keyboards, strings and a harmonica.

Kasey's favorite themes are here--delivered with particular verve and originality: feisty happiness ("Sign on the Door," the sexy "You Make Me Sing"), contemplation of what could have been ("Colour of a Carnival," "Dangerous"), dealing with the bad men in her life ("Light up a Candle," "I Got You Now"), enduring the tough times ("Hard Road" which includes a lovely duet with Bernard Fanning, "Nothing at All," and the intoxicating but strange "Railroad"), and finding a brighter tomorrow or the hope of one ("The Rain," "Surrender," and "Don't Look So Sad").

Kasey remains an original and a treasure.

"I got a sign on the door that says Lonely don't live here anymore."

It was about time the spell Kasey Chambers originally cast on me wore off - I'd become a huge fan of The Captain and Barricades & Brickwalls, but there was all something a little nagging about even those two very good records. Chambers, a unique betty boop squeak of a voice, was a lustrous presence in rootsy contexts, and the best moments of those records were snarky updates on an old form, but the worst moments were forgettable alt-country duldrums of patched together cliches. Wayward Angel, Chambers' third album, had some great songs on it, but its pop and country predictability overtook a good half of the album. Carnival shows Chambers at her weakest - sad girl anthems of generic empowerment about the rain, bad girl anthems of doin-wrong that sound about as risky as songs on The Disney channel's afternoon lineup. "Light Up A Candle" fakes its slinkiness and turns dull, "Surrender" adds a Dido production of drum machines and computer bleeps that don't mask the song's epic ordinariness, ballads like "Dangerous" limp along to their own generic lethargy. Chambers isn't without charm - "Sign On The Door" and "I Got You Now" are impossible to not find fun - yet Chambers worst instincts as a song writer threaten to take over even the good songs - "Hard Road," a sad and moving movie-ready duet, borders on self-parody - lines like "There's a heavy jacket/ there's a heavy load/ there's a weight on my shoulders/ it's a hard road" read like a laundry list of related lines from every sad and moving movie-ready song you've ever heard.

I saw Kasey Chambers play at SXSW in 2001 and couldn't help rooting for her. She seemed so humble and truly in awe of being in the spotlight. Her album, The Captain, was nice and catchy, but nothing monumental. All in all, I thought a decent folk pop artist was about to hit the big time. After being a fan of that album and Barricades and Brickwalls, I was excited for Carnival. Unfortunately, it is a huge stinker. It is hard to write a review because I have only listened to the album a couple of times - that is all that I can take. The music is, as others said, very bland. It sounds like mid nineties radio rock - third stage Lilith Fair schlock. Chambers overdoes the "Betty Boop" voice on this one, too. Light a Candle is a sad Fever imitation, not a sleak new direction. I hope Kasey reverts back to her old ways on future albums or at least sounds good if she takes off in a new direction. The only reason I am giving this album two stars is because I am still rooting for Kasey. However, if you are thinking about buying this album, make sure to listen to it first!

I can't help but feel like I've been let down in some way. I understand that an artist must follow his or her vision, but in this case I found the end result to be boring and bland. Not only that, but this album doesn't rock, as some reviews have indicated. It felt like a misconstrued hodgepodge of music, almost as if Casey can't figure out what the heck she wants to do. I felt like I had been trapped in easy listening hell. After being in love with The Captain and Barricades & Brick Walls for years, this honestly is a tremendous let-down.

THere are some unique songs on this album. A lot of variety, which makes it enjoyable. Another great album from Kasey Chambers.

I own no fewer than 24 Kasey releases (including most of the singles, some promos and EPs, and all the Dead Ringer CDs), some of which I count among my favorite albums. But I didn't warm to this one much. Partly it's the move away from roots to sometimes boring and ugly sounds--about a third of the tracks I can barely listen to at all--; partly it's the increasing opacity of the lyrics that don't even make an effort to make sense (aka singer-songwriter syndrome); and partly it's a new prominence to her streak of calculated offensiveness. 'Edginess' is what they call it, I guess. It's still Kasey (which is why it still gets three stars), and she's very much in control of every song, but I fear where she's going.

"Sign on the Door" is the most infectiously upbeat tune, but it is also the one that for me crosses the line to unacceptable. Julie Miller (for example) can get away with comparing her God and her man ("I need somebody more than a lover / in my bed / I need somebody here with me in my head") because we know her heart is in the right place; but Kasey's sly blend of blasphemy and gratuitous anti-Americanism--'God might be king in the Land of the Free / But *you're* the Blessed Saviour, *you're* the one I need'--comes across as just nasty, and gives the whole album a sour taste. She's entering Madonna territory here and (speaking as a friend) that's not where I want to find her.