4. Carissa's Wierd "Songs About Leaving"
Carissa's Wierd (weird was intentionally misspelled) was formed by songwriters Mat Brooke and Jean Ghetto. They were influenced by bands like Joy Division and the Smiths but sounded nothing like them, however they held the same mood. There sound was unlike any other band, melancholic with gentle strings and sad keys coupled with somber male/female vocals often duetting and singing lyrics that were always as honest as they were painful. By the time they'd release Songs About Leaving they'd fully come into their sound and proven to be as creative as they were unique but beautiful things never seem to last. In 2003, a year after the release of Songs About Leaving, they'd announced their break up and went their separate ways to form such acts as Band of Horses, Grand Archives, S, Crictor and Sera Cahoone.
This is probably the most recent favorite album in the top 10, in fact it really only started meaning a lot to me in September. When going through a break up (or really any emotional time) this album gains such a soundtrack like quality that it's scary and you truly begin to appreciate just how emotive and beautiful it is. The album seemed to traverse every emotion and it's stunning how expressive the music itself is. The echoy duets and guitar lines, everything about it just seems to reflect the mood that the lyrics bring to it.
Songs About Leaving really does mean a lot to me and I can't really write that well today because I am feeling odd. But I do think everyone should give it a chance. I probably made it sound really "emo" but if you go in with an open-mind and shove aside your prior prejudices it really is a beautiful album. I've been listening to this album more than any other album lately and if my heart wrote songs they'd sound like these.
Favorite Songs: Low Budget Slow Motion Soundtrack Song for the Leaving Scene, So You Wanna Be a Superhero, Ignorant Piece of Sh
it, Sofisticated F
uck Princess Please Leave Me Alone, A New Holiday (November 16th)
MySpace.com - Carissa's Wierd - SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - Folk / Indie / Indie - www.myspace.com/carissaswierd