Indian Summer

Haven't been here since I was a boy

This one right here, this is my all time favorite Carbon Leaf Record. The perfect album for summer or fall, it's chock full of upbeat and happy tunes about love, life and everything. "Life Less Ordinary" is one of my all time favorite love songs while the jaunty "What About Everything?" asks all the questions with no answers with one of their catchiest singles. "Changeless" is an ode to promises made while "This Is My Song" revisits the celtic rock vibe with a witty song about love and loss, anthropomorphizing the various emotions. "Grey Sky Eyes" is a gorgeous ballad with some of the sweetest guitar lines that Carter has ever crafted. "Raise The Roof" and "Paloma" both have great instrumentals in them, with the electric mandolin solo in the former and the busy bass lines in the latter. "One Prairie Outpost" is the band's fan favorite, a melancholic song about the journey west, written when the band made their first tour out that way. The album ends strong with a powerful and slowly rollicking buildup of a song called "The Sea". Once again, ending the record off on a memorable note that truly feels like getting swallowed up the ocean of society.

This album is incredibly important to me. It's soundtracked my entire adolescence, helped me through hard times thanks to songs like "Let Your Troubles Roll By" and also has been there for me as a comforting companion, much like in the song "When I'm Alone". This is also the fan favorite record for most Leaf fans, and it's no wonder why. Most of this album still gets played regularly when they play live, and we all know the words to these songs.

It may not be the most well-known album of all time, nor the band themselves, but I'm very glad to have them and their music. They truly lit the spark in my soul for how much music means to me. Thanks for reading.