Brandi Carlile - "Brandi Carlile"
(Columbia, 2005) * * * *
See the article as it ran in the Daily News:
http://jonathansanders.0catch.com/Carlile.JPG
It might seem impossible to create a truly original sound in these days in which everyone says he's heard everything before. But Brandi Carlile has a clear grip on both her musical ambition and her influences, blending everything from Patsy Cline and Janis Joplin to Gary Jules and Rufus Wainwright. In the process she's created an album that stands on its own as an impressive work that belies her young age.
From the opening strands of "Follow" -- which opens with a simple acoustic guitar melody coupled with Carlile's rough and sultry vocals -- it is clear that this isn't an ordinary folk country pop album. "I feel the rain coming down, it reminds me of who I used to be," she sings, then her voice rises in pitch and wavers briefly on a high note before collapsing into a series of semi-controlled yodels that make the hairs on the head stand at attention. It's so ethereal a sound, one can't help but think it's been rolling around the confines of the skull forever, even if it's only really been three minutes.
The album builds from there, with few tracks that don't stand out in one way or another. "What Can I Say" sounds like it could have been an outtake from Gary Jules' album Selling Snakeoil For Wolftickets, which still stands as the best album I've heard in this year or last -- and the fact that Carlile, at 23, can tread the water of so many genres at once only makes the album more powerful. It's difficult to describe. Songs like "Closer To You" are at once familiar and new, paying homage to country greats like Cline with one note while touching on the likes of Rufus Wainwright with the delicate arrangements. No wonder Rolling Stone named her one of their Ten Artists To Watch list back in March. The music is stunning, so full of potential it's amazing.
If you've got a taste for music that is cutting edge, floating beneath the general radar, give Brandi Carlile a listen. The album is refreshingly original in a sea of Coldplay-ish sludge. Reward creativity over carbon copy music and show that musical taste does speak for something. Not since I heard Regina Spektor's album Soviet Kitsch have I heard a female talent with so much untapped potential. Even if this style isn't what's currently vogue, rest assured that Brandi Carlile's blend of country folk will be heard. The quality demands it.
See the article as it ran in the Daily News:
http://jonathansanders.0catch.com/Carlile.JPG
It might seem impossible to create a truly original sound in these days in which everyone says he's heard everything before. But Brandi Carlile has a clear grip on both her musical ambition and her influences, blending everything from Patsy Cline and Janis Joplin to Gary Jules and Rufus Wainwright. In the process she's created an album that stands on its own as an impressive work that belies her young age.
From the opening strands of "Follow" -- which opens with a simple acoustic guitar melody coupled with Carlile's rough and sultry vocals -- it is clear that this isn't an ordinary folk country pop album. "I feel the rain coming down, it reminds me of who I used to be," she sings, then her voice rises in pitch and wavers briefly on a high note before collapsing into a series of semi-controlled yodels that make the hairs on the head stand at attention. It's so ethereal a sound, one can't help but think it's been rolling around the confines of the skull forever, even if it's only really been three minutes.
The album builds from there, with few tracks that don't stand out in one way or another. "What Can I Say" sounds like it could have been an outtake from Gary Jules' album Selling Snakeoil For Wolftickets, which still stands as the best album I've heard in this year or last -- and the fact that Carlile, at 23, can tread the water of so many genres at once only makes the album more powerful. It's difficult to describe. Songs like "Closer To You" are at once familiar and new, paying homage to country greats like Cline with one note while touching on the likes of Rufus Wainwright with the delicate arrangements. No wonder Rolling Stone named her one of their Ten Artists To Watch list back in March. The music is stunning, so full of potential it's amazing.
If you've got a taste for music that is cutting edge, floating beneath the general radar, give Brandi Carlile a listen. The album is refreshingly original in a sea of Coldplay-ish sludge. Reward creativity over carbon copy music and show that musical taste does speak for something. Not since I heard Regina Spektor's album Soviet Kitsch have I heard a female talent with so much untapped potential. Even if this style isn't what's currently vogue, rest assured that Brandi Carlile's blend of country folk will be heard. The quality demands it.
posted by Jonathan Sanders @ 1:37 AM
2 Comments:
You're really breaking your layout with these images of your column.
Yeah, but when it is available, I think being able to show the articles as they ran in the paper is the way to do it ... do you not like it? Perhaps I'll create a webpage with the images when I get a chance, and link it, and repost the album reviews as text. But first I'll have to overcome some Blogger problems that have kept me from posting these past couple weeks.
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