Now that I have created a blog, I thought it would be nice to go through some of my favorite bands, especially those who don’t get all that much popular airplay. While Carissa’s Wierd is not my absolute favorite band (The Beatles, of course, and maybe a few others would come first), they’re definitely my favorite band that it always frustrates me that no one seems to know about.
The genre of music I most like has been described as “sad boys and girls with guitars” by more than one person over the last few years. While I obviously like a lot more than that, it really is pretty appropriate. And Carissa’s Wierd is easily the epitome of that genre. But, like most preeminent examples of a concept, they really transcend the category. So, there’s not really anyone to compare them to.
Well, the one obvious comparison is Iron and Wine, which invites an entirely separate rant. Don’t get me wrong, Iron and Wine is fine, but Carissa’s Wierd is just better in every way. And it’s not even close. So every time I hear someone gushing about Sam Beam I just want to tell them to go buy Ugly But Honest and see how it’s really meant to be done.
Anyways, they play guitars, sing softly, often with hushed vocals, and play pretty much the prettiest songs you could imagine. Their first album (Ugly But Honest) is distinctly lo-fi. The production values pick up in the later discs, though the basic idea stays very much the same. The violin features more prominently, they work a bit more with the soft/loud verse/chorus dynamic (though “loud” for this band is not the same thing as loud for Nirvana, say), and they continue to explore what it means to be lonely and afraid, and whatever it is that happened on November 16th.
Oh, and have I mentioned Jenn Ghetto yet? Most of the singing is done by Mat Brooke, who has a great voice, especially for the type of music they play. However, singing backup on a fair amount of the songs and up front on a few is Jenn Ghetto (who has released two solo albums under the name S). While Brooke’s voice is great, and melds perfectly with the music, her voice is incredibly frail (and I mean that in the most positive way possible), sometimes sounding like it’s only held together by wisps of air, darting in and out of the song, harmonizing for a second, and then going on its own way. Listening to her songs is heartbreaking, but also cathartic.
I saw them play live twice, both at the Crocodile in Seattle, and they are two of the best shows I’ve ever been to. They were clearly quite shy, excited to see how much the crowd liked them, but maybe a little astonished at the adoration.
They broke up a couple years ago and it was probably the saddest music-related moment in my life (I wasn’t born when John Lennon was shot). Since then, they’ve released two albums. One (I Before E) is a recording of their last show along with the three completed studio songs that were meant to go on their next album. The other (Scrap Book) is a collection of miscallaneous songs that never made it onto an album. Most of these were left off for a reason, but none of them are bad and a few are just as amazing as anything else they produced.
A few songs for your enjoyment. I hope that they inspire you to go out and buy the albums. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
All Apologies and Smiles, Yours Truly, Ugly Valentine
This song is easily in my top 10 of all-time, and (depending on my mood) is probably in the top 5. It was this song that inspired me to search long and hard for everything else the band had ever done (which was sort of tough back in the misty days of 2001). It’s one of those great Thunder Road-esque songs that start out slow and just keep building and building and building until it’s almost unbearable. It’s walks the line between despair and joy more perfectly than any other song I’ve ever heard. Depending on my mood, it can bring me to the edge of tears or can make me smile with delight. Or, sometimes, do both at the same time. In short, this is one of the songs that convinces me that there is a meaning to our existence–if we can create something this beautiful, there’s still a lot of reason to hope.
This is from their first album and is a great representative example of that whole disc. There’s not a whole lot of variation–it’s the same basic riff for the whole song. But it never feels the least bit tedious. The slight variations are what the song is all about. And this is about the most perfect instance on any of their songs of Mat Brooke’s voice meshing perfectly with the other instruments. When he breathes “and I just hate these fluorescent lights” the weight of the world, the sadness of it all, and the harshness is palpable. And yet, you can’t help but just shrug it off. Sure, the world is a tough place, and sure lots of people are mean, cruel, or indifferent, but that’s no reason for despair.
This is the live version of this song off the I Before E compilation. I liked the original but this version is even better, mostly because of the last minute and a half, when they let loose and kick things into gear. The only complaint I have about Carissa’s Weird is that they don’t rock out as much as they could. This version of the song shows how great they can be when they pick up the pace.
This is also from the I Before E compilation. It’s one of the last songs they wrote, and it shows that even in the process of breaking up, they were progressing as artists. It’s certainly one of the most complex songs they wrote, with the interweaved vocals, the violin driving the song, the build-up to her singing “die! right now,” and the fact that it starts out loud and fast only to discover the quiet/slow sections later in the song.
Anyways, like I said, this is one of the best groups I have ever heard. And I strongly recommend seeking out and buying all of their albums. Which may be somewhat difficult, since (as far as I can tell) the first two are out-of-print, but the others should all be available at Sad Robot Records or from Sonic Boom Records. Believe me, it’ll be worth it to track them down.