Carbon Leaf's sound continues to evolve, and the results are outstanding. The band says it has given up trying to "define" its style of music, since it's a shifting blend of so many influences and original ideas. In the past, Carbon Leaf has played variations of rootsy folk-rock with Celtic, bluegrass, and alt-pop flourishes. This new album is focused more on a clean but no less impressive, straightforward pop-rock sound that's catchy without being cloying, radio-friendly without being superficial. Even with this focus, there's excellent variety: "Block of Wood" has a gorgeous country-rock lilt, for example, while "International Airport" flirts with jazz. All in all, this is a polished gem that deserves to be the band's breakout album.
The songs range from engaging ("Bright Lights," "Love Loss Hope Repeat") to anthemic ("Learn to Fly," "Comfort") to heartbreaking ("Block of Wood") to humorous ("A Girl and Her Horse") to profound ("The War Was in Color"). If you enjoy infectious melodies, stunning harmonies, thought-provoking and often bittersweet lyrics, beautiful instrumentation, and pristine, finely crafted production, you will love this album.
There are acoustic rhythm guitars aplenty, neatly embellished with subtle electric guitar riffs and fills (Terry Clark and Carter Gravatt), anchored by a killer rhythm section (Jordan Medas on bass and Scott Milstead on drums) and some touches of mandolin (Gravatt again). This album also has a bit more keyboard work than some of Carbon Leaf's earlier releases, courtesy of guest musician Tim Lauer. Soaring above it all is the clear, resonant and at times hypnotic voice of lead singer Barry Privett, who also writes all of the band's lyrics.
This is my favorite release of 2006 so far, along with "Ganging Up on the Sun" by Guster. Both new and longtime fans of Carbon Leaf have much to celebrate with "Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat."