You get home, turn
on your laptop, open iTunes and begin to download a new CD. Then, you begin to
listen to it and, if you are lucky, you get lost in the journey of music. It
doesn’t matter who it is talking about, the situation it was inspired on, or
why a song was written in the first place. Music has the distinct trait of
making you feel, because you get to put your own story into it. This is what
happened to me earlier this week when I listened to Brandi Carlile’s new CD: “Bear
Creek”.
As many others, I discovered Brandi Carlile watching an episode of “Grey’s
Anatomy”. After hearing a song in a very emotional scene I was compelled to
learn more about her. So, naturally, I went to youtube and began listening to
her music; I was instantly captivated. Something happened that I had never
experienced before: her music appealed to me in a deeply personal level.
With four other CD’s under her belt (including a live one), Brandi
Carlile and her band mates, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, return with “Bear Creek”, a
production that Carlile has repeatedly said she is very proud of. It was all
recorded in a little studio in the state of Washington, and like all her other
CD’s, it was done in a very unique and intimate environment.
Most of the songs blew me away. They have that folky/rock/country vibe
that is identifiable as Brandi’s style. Above that, it is a honest piece of
work. Her voice has soul and in those screams, yodels and imperfections we get
greatness. We see the best examples of this in songs like “I’ll Still Be
There”, “Raise Hell” and “A Promise to Keep”. In those heartfelt and natural
moments, you get to feel the emotions she is trying to convey. We get to feel
heartbroken, melancholic, mad and hopeful as the music penetrates our soul. Not
many people can do that.
Another cool thing that I noticed in “Bear Creek” is the voice of the
twins. They are used more in this CD than it the others and I must say it
sounds awesome; it adds personality to the songs like “A Hard Way Home”. I read
somewhere their voices are made to sound like an incoming train, and it is a
recurring thing in many of the tracks. Pay attention and you will notice it.
Other notable tracks are “That Wasn’t Me” (which by the way, is the
first single), “100”, “Save Part of Yourself” and the song that I believe to be
my favorite in the whole album: “Why Did I Ever Come Here For.”
All in all, “Bear Creek” is an excellent CD. It is complex. We can see
Brandi and the twins putting themselves and their feelings out there, which
makes the songs transcend. In a world in which a lot of the music has lost a
lot of power in the sense that songs are forgettable, Brandi Carlile is a breath
of fresh air.
No comments:
Post a Comment