Hooked from the first track
Jonathan Jewett | Kaneohe, HI USA | 07/14/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Confident in its melancholy, brilliant in its execution, I feel like it would be a good buy for those who appreciate intimate wistful music. This isn't Band Of Horses, it doesn't have any rock feel, it is definitely softer. But I felt Carissa's Wierd captured raw emotion with simple and haunting acoustic arrangements, (see Die, One Night Stand, Ignorant...). The female vocalist Jenn Ghetto sounds sweet and the male lead, Mat Brooke, has a satisfying but muted delivery.
There is some experimentation on the end of some of songs which gives it a demo tape feel. The album has 16 tracks and because it's slow tempo some songs drag a little. But if your in a reflective mood or live to listen to music while reading a mellow book this would be a good match.
Anyway, I'm terrible at writing reviews, but I felt this was worth writing about."
The "Best of" a beautiful and haunting band
David Long | NJ | 07/16/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I discovered Carissa's Wierd a few years ago, picking up their last album "Songs About Leaving" after reading that Band of Horses was formed by a couple of their members. I fell in love with their music instantly. This CD is a good "best of" their 5 albums of material (3 regular studio, 1 rare/covers/remixes, and 1 mostly live). The music varies with some songs more up-tempo than others, but all of them have a gorgeous, largely acoustic sound. Lyrically, they all share common themes - sorrow, regret, pain, loss. You won't find any happy songs, but you will find songs that anyone can identify with. If you enjoy haunting melodies and melancholy lyrics, give this band a listen. It's great music for when you want to relax.
In some ways, this band is in a class by itself. The combination of brooding, sometimes almost whispered vocals with violin and soft guitar playing is really beautiful and sad at the same time. Their song titles can be rather bizarre and long but don't let that scare you.
All three studio tracks from their mostly live CD "I Before E" are here - "Die", "Phantom Fireworks" and "Blue Champagne Glass". "Die" is my favorite of the group; it's an up-tempo song, although the lyrics are rather depressing ("Die right now / I never asked to be here"). They only picked one song from the rare/covers/remix album "Scrap Book" to include but they did pick the best - "Sympathy Bush". Hardly Art is supposed to reissue their 3 studio albums, but this CD is still worth picking up for the above 4 songs regardless.
The rest of the songs are from their regular studio albums and I would rank them all 4 or 5 stars. Surprisingly, they only have 2 songs from "Ugly But Honest", their first CD - "Drunk With the Only Saints I Know" and "One Night Stand". Both are excellent songs. "One Night Stand" includes appropriately regretful lyrics such as "suddenly a wonderful evening / turned into a sour sunrise." From "You Should Be At Home Here", they've included 4 songs: "The Color That Your Eyes Changed With The Color Of Your Hair", "Brooke Daniels' Tiny Broken Fingers", "Blessed Arms That Hold You Tight, Freezing Cold And Alone", and "All Apologies And Smiles, Yours Truely, Ugly Valentine". "Brooke Daniels..." and "The Color..." are two excellent examples of their many songs which build to a crescendo at the end of the song. They included the most songs from their final studio album, "Songs About Leaving" - "Low Budget Slow Motion Soundtrack Song For The Leaving Scene", "You Should Be Hated Here", "So You Wanna Be A Superhero", "Ignorant Piece Of ____", "September Come Take This Heart Away", and "They'll Only Miss You When You Leave". "Low Budget..." has a dream-like quality with its abundant use of violin and Jenn's vocals.
It's a great CD for fans of indie music or alternative folk. This is the group that spawned musical acts Band of Horses, S, Sera Cahoone, and Grand Archives. Among those, S and Sera Cahoone probably sound most like Carissa's Wierd at times, but I think any fans of those groups will enjoy this as well."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1