How the West Was One

A new age has begun

A rather underrated release from the boys, this one marks the shift into the next decade with a decidedly more folksy and country-tinged sound. Inspired by their tours out west, it tackles themes of colonialism, long distance love, and a yearning for a more rural way of living. The song "Midwestern Girl" features a live recording of various live shows where they asked the crowd to sing the refrain, I may or may not be featured in those samples! My first Carbon Leaf show is one of the ones where they asked to audience to participate in that. So that's cool!

I've always liked this little record, even though it's very short I appreciate the cozy vibes and the imagery of the west associated with this album creates very strong urges to travel. Having driven west before on a road trip, I absolutely see where the band was coming from with these songs. Another interesting thing to note, the band is now completely independent from any label, and from here on out all of their albums would have a more homegrown aesthetic to them, drawing more from folk than ever before. The catchy pop rock vibes from past albums will almost all but go away as the band enters this chapter of their career. I will also start getting every album autographed from here on out too hehehehe.