Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great one from Carbon Leaf, July 14, 2004
While not quite as universally strong as their previous album, "Echo Echo" (Download it free from Amazon, you'll like it enough to want to buy it), "Indian Summer" is another extremely strong album from these guys from Virginia. The first few songs on this album, "Life Less Ordinary", and "What about Everything", along with others "Grey Sky Eyes" and "Let Your Troubles Go By" are winners that truly deserve to get the radio airplay to rise above the usual drivel you hear on radio today.Carbon Leaf is one of the few bands I've heard in the last few years that truly has a new and unique sound. Combining great musicians (the guitar player is phenomenal to watch in concert, at no point do his fingers leave his hands), interesting sets of instruments, and a variety of influences (Celtic, Bluegrass, Country and good old fashioned rock-n-roll), they create a depth and richness of sound that few groups are able to get near. This album, along with the others in their catalog, has literally been in my player non-stop recently. Check them out. Download their free albums, buy the others. Check out their websites. You won't be sorry.
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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mid-'90s art rock from 2004., January 21, 2005
In today's popular music scene, what's old is new. With the rise of bands like the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Killers, Interpol, and many others, going with a "retro" sound is a ticket to success. Perhaps this is the thing to which Carbon Leaf can best attribute their recent success, their sound recalling the arty alternative "college rock" sound of the mid-`90s.
However, if this hard-working Richmond, Virginia-based band sounds like a blast from the past, it's because they actually are from the past. After ten years of independent releases and an endless struggle for success, Carbon Leaf have finally made their long-sought-after breakthrough with their major-label debut "Indian Summer".
This album is full of catchy, well-written tunes that will make you nostalgic for the '90s. "Life Less Ordinary", the lead single that the band recently performed on the "Dr. Phil" show, is an upbeat melodic rocker that is sure to stick in your head. "When I'm Alone" and "Grey Sky Eyes" showcase the softer, moodier side of the band with anguished acoustic melodies; "Paloma" is a bit more eclectic, with an odd but infectious bassline, and touches of Celtic and tribal music that bring Rusted Root to mind. "One Prairie Outpost" is another acoustic track, this time with a more up-tempo, slightly country-flavored melody. "What About Everything" is a bit more mid-tempo, with quirky lyrics and one of the best choruses of the album. The closing track, "The Sea", is an epic ballad, clocking in at over 7 minutes, bringing it all home in true alt-rock fashion.
The band does a fairly decent job of keeping their music interesting, with layered instrumentation, a good mix of acoustic and electric guitars, and influence from a wide variety of genres. Frontman Terry Clark is an accomplished singer and songwriter, with a very distinctive and appealing voice. However, the album does cross over into somewhat drab territory at times. "This Is My Song", while boasting a nice folky melody here and there, has a somewhat dry vocal delivery, making the song largely forgettable on the whole. "Raise the Roof" repeats vocal lines way too many times, and goes on for a bit too long, resulting in a tedious and tiresome listen.
But hey, when they're good, they're great. The album is full of catchy and creative melodies, even if they aren't present in every single song. "Indian Summer" is not a world-changing masterpiece, but for those who miss the glory days of artists like Dave Matthews, Counting Crows, and the aforementioned Rusted Root, this album will bring back fond memories.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Carbon Leaf all polished up and ready for the world, December 21, 2005
This gem of an album is the Richmond based band's strongest so far. It brings together their diverse and prolific work background and channels it all into a professional wrapper but still retains the band's creativity and pathos and produces what might happen if Coldplay met Cat Stevens and they played at a Celtic festival.
Carbon Leaf has always been an energetic and enthusiastic live band, rocking intimate live performances a lot like private jam sessions, the band members are all excellent musicians and uninhibited in their creativity, and their previous albums reflected this raw and untapped ethic. Their style has always been a refreshing mix of folksy, moody, and hyper with themes that tend to be introspective and interpersonal without being depressing, with a fixed eye on the horizon (with a sort of a pioneer spirit; decidedly Virginian). Their sound is ecletic and unabashed in experimenting and trying out different styles from folk and celtic, to pure rock, and indie ballads. So their independent albums are flush with gems of all sorts, one giant brainstorming session.
"Indian Summer" takes all this, cleans it up, and picks out what really works.
The songs on this album are diverse and take a bit of everything the band has developed up to this point, the general mood and theme of the album is just what the title suggests: zest for life with a heavy understanding of the world, hope and joy that has seen melancholy. It comes together in Barry Privett's mellow voice, and the band's tight musicality.
The album is wonderful played straight through, but the highlights are "Life Less Ordinary", uptempo and rhythmic, "This Is My Song" the same but even more rollicking, "The Sea" a long and hypnotizing ballad, "One Prarie Outpost" sweet and reminiscent of James Taylor.
But my favorites without a doubt are "Grey Sky Eyes" a beautiful little ballad that starts off with a dancing guitar, light and cloudlike and romantic but a little bittersweet. "What About Everything?" an insanely catchy, hook-infested quirky monologue on life with fantastic lyrics ("what about being done with no resume/what about aliens? what about you and me? what about gold beneath the sea? what about when buildings fall, what about that midnight phone call, the one that wakes you from your peace?"). It also has my all time favorite Carbon Leaf song "When I'm Alone", it's gorgeous. A loud rhythmically throbbing lament to a lost love and friendship, an almost Irish ode with a rock soul, alternately swelling and retreating to quiet, but always devoutly in line to the beat.
Check these guys out, there's a lot to love about them.
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