Carissa's Weird

Carissa's Weird really aren't that weird, in fact they're really quite your average, everyday, folk pop band. Perhaps it's their ordinary approach and an unusual name that makes them weird, but their music in and of itself is anything but. Coming from the quiet is the new loud school of music, Carissa's Weird gently strum their way across songs as if every guitar string they pick is about to snap in two and as if their hearts have perpetually been broken. Their greatest hits package, They'll Only Miss You When You Leave: Songs 1996-2003 collects together seven years of unobtrusive and excessively shy folk pop that tends to be so quiet you wouldn't even know it's there.

Like a whisper in your ear, They'll Only Miss You When You Leave, is something you have to concentrate to hear and something you have to internalize to enjoy. With violins, weepy guitars, brushed drums and sighed vocals aplenty, Carissa's Weird lilt their way across this collection in an almost somber mode that's somewhere between being manic depressive or nearly suicidal. That's not necessarily a bad thing as this despair seems to power the band into making beautifully introspective and quietly meditative tunes that will give your heart a bear hug and strangle it. From the oddly titled, "Die," to the broken heart of, "September Come Take This Heart Away," you can’t help but wonder if the plethora of members who make up this band have ever truly been happy.

This is an intense record that sees a band perpetually dwelling in areas you'd really rather not go. None-the-less it's a gorgeous record that quietly rearranges how folk should be played; on the verge of death, fresh from tragedy and ripe for interpretation. They'll Only Miss You When You Leave doesn't read like a happy record and even at its chirpiest, you can't help but wonder what is wrong with these people. Maybe it's that feeling of being overwhelmed that makes Carissa so weird and if that's the case, it almost seems justifiable because how long can one write songs like, "They'll Only Miss You When You Leave?" Mesmerizing, pastoral, gut wrenching and all consuming, They'll Only Miss You When You Leave is a great round up of songs that are in dire need of psychological help. While this record is thoroughly entertaining, I would almost be willing to pay Carissa's Weird to bust out a pop song proper. Until then, I'll sit in a dark room and listen to the stirring emotions that make up They'll Only Miss You When You Leave.