Carbon Leaf
Indian Summer
Camper Van Beethoven leader David Lowery has noted how that act has influenced a new generation of jam bands, so it’s no surprise that Lowery ended up producing the latest release by Carbon Leaf, who hail from his current home of Richmond, Va. What’s surprising is that Carbon Leaf’s fifth album almost completely buries the band’s more eclectic Celtic and bluegrass elements beneath big drums and guitars. “Changeless” and “One Prairie Output,” to name just a couple of songs, make the group sound more like R.E.M. than ever before. Inveterate jam fans will nonetheless appreciate the more standard issue noodling of “This is My Song!” and “Paloma,” but there’s a new emphasis on sharper songwriting that indicates an untapped strain of potential.
Take away: Big break
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Edited by Curt Wagner ([email protected]) and alBerto Trevino ([email protected])