Carbon Leaf Countdown #46: Mellow Tone
Jan 19
Looks like we didn’t have to wait long for more from Echo Echo. At #46, it’s “Mellow Tone.”
I feel like every Carbon Leaf song I write about is going to be a different reason why I love the band. Wonder how many I can get? The reason here is the seasonal tone the band can match perfectly. Plain and simple, the band really knows how to capture the essence of the seasons. Count em off for me. Spring not so much though songs like “Seed” & “Shine” to me really feel like songs to blare as the temperature starts rising again. That’s just me though. Fall could be just me as well, but folksy/Celtic-infused songs really just invoke the feeling of fall and walking through a sea of leaves. Seriously, How The West Was could basically be the soundtrack of any spur-of-the-moment September road trip. Winter is where Carbon Leaf just starts to show off. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who’s ever been to one of their Christmas concerts. Their excellent Christmas album aside, songs like “Snowfall Music” & “November (makebelieve)” really evoke that feeling of camping out in your house next to a fire snuggled deep in a blanket with a good book. And Summer…that’s where Carbon Leaf really belongs basically. There are countless songs that just remind you of summer either because of the lyrics (“X-Ray”) or the music itself (“Grey Sky Eyes”) and calling an album Indian Summer is sure going to bring out those thoughts as well. Put that album on shuffle though and it’s basically the playlist to any summer cook-out you’ve ever had. So yeah, “Mellow Tone…”
“Mellow Tone.” That’s a summer song. It’s all in the music too which makes it that much more enjoyable. Sure, there are subtle references in the lyrics (planned or not) to the season like “dead end cove” and “dilate me in your pool,” but it’s really the music. Actually, it’s really that guitar effect. At first it’s a simple surf-rock guitar rhythm. Then, right as the vocal line switches into high gear, an effect kicks in making the guitar sound like it’s being tunneled through an ocean wave before reaching your ears. The song really just sounds like something you would listen to on the beach with your feet in the sand just barely out of reach of the tide. I mean, obviously the song is extremely mellow and laid-back, but it’s just really evocative of the summer feeling. Laying back, relaxing, longing for the beach, not a care in the world. Carbon Leaf really can just gather up any memory & image they want at any time. You wait. One day someone will dare them they can’t make a song that’ll remind you of playing a video game on the couch with an almost empty bag of Cheetos on your lap. Next thing you know you’ll be picking up a new Carbon Leaf album and thinking deja vu the whole time. Just wait and see…
Song: Mellow Tone
Album: Echo Echo
Year: 2001
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