Music Monday: Carry The Ghost Review

         My hiatus from this blog came at a bad time, because a lot of really great albums came out between August and December: some really great ones and then some really big disapointments. So I have a lot of reviews to catch up on, and I apologise if they seem redundant at this point, but whatever!

           I thought I'd start with what I think is the best album to come out in all of 2015: Carry The Ghost by Noah Gundersen. It's times like these that I really thank my lucky stars for having Liz Tramp in my life. If it weren't for Liz, I would never have even heard of Noah Gundersen, and then my life would never have been the same. So, thank you Liz for having great taste in music, and I think you're pretty great too!

          Gundersen is one of those artists who could make the happy birthday song sound like the most passionate and pivotal thing he's ever sung in his whole life. His music just takes over the emotional side of your brain and holds on with a terrier-esc grip. His debut album Ledges, was and is my go to album to trump all others. Carry The Ghost is no different my friends. I could listen to this album all day,  every day for the rest of my life, and never tire of it. It is in a word: flawless.

           Gundersen is a modern folk artist, so it is no surprise that this album, like Ledges, is unequivocally folk. The lyrics present a broken, passionate, wreck of a man in true folk fashion;  however, instrumentally, Carry the Ghost has a little more bite to it. While Ledges infused it's songs with rich fiddle, and acoustic guitar almost exclusively, Ghost includes more electric guitar, percussion, and a much more present piano.

            The album opens with solo piano, playing the opening chords of Slow Dancer. The piano gives way to electric guitar rifts, and soft percussion, and later, a frantic and passionate string section. Slow Dancer feels like the old-school ballads of yesteryear, and is a beautiful way to set the tone for the rest of the album. Halo (Appear/Disappear) is a dark self-examination: beautiful and heartbreaking. Gundersen has a way of making each lyric matter, without making you feel like he's forcing the emotion out of his songs. It just flows so naturally from his song writing and his performance.

             Selfish Art is perhaps one of the most interesting songs on Ghost. It is Gundersen analysing his song writing, it's purpose in the grand scheme of things, and the motivation behind it. It is raw and unashamedly honest.

I'm watching as the stage goes black

How long until we all go back 

To being nothing at all

Nothing but a spark in someones eye

Am I giving all that I can give

Am I earning the right to live

By looking in a mirror

There's nothing more sincere than selfish art

           Gundersen examines past, broken relationships, in Show Me The Light, Silver Bracelet, Jealous Love, and Blossom. Silver Bracelet uses light guitar trills and tender visuals, as Gundersen recalls fond memories of better times.

Silver bracelet in my cup

Holder marks like bread crumbs on your trail line

And the pictures on the fridge

From the booth in Tennessee that one time

When I was in love and you were in love with me also

Holding my hand

Kissing my mouth like you wanted to

Back before the money tool its toll

Back before the rhythm lost its soul

Back before I made up my mind to go

Blossom is especially beautiful in its lyrics and instrumentation. Gundersen sadly sings about a loving a relationship, that still could not work, while sincerely wishing the other well: "May you blossom like a flower, may you go dancing in the air"

Gundersen also examines the topics of human nature, sexuality, and God in The Difference, Empty From the Start, and Topless Dancer.  

         Carry the Ghost is a beautiful sophomore album for Gundersen. It is an emotional, tender, sensual and passionate folk album and I am entirely in love with it. I struggle to find fault lines or cracks in Ghost for this review. If there are any, it's that it's just not long enough, so I definitely recommend the Deluxe edition.

P.S. blogging in China is great! I can write a Music Monday on a Tuesday, even though it's still Monday for a large portion of my readers! Winning!

P.P.S: Hope you all had a great Christmas! 

Music Monday: Christmas Edition 2015

Hello blog friends! It's hard to believe Christmas is nearly upon us already. The season has seemed even more elusive being in China this year, but I'll do a longer post in that later. In the meantime I've posted this precious live recording if Daniela Andrade's "Christmas Time is Here." Happy Last Monday Before Christmas!!

This morning I woke up...

     This morning I woke up...it's a cold, blustery, damp sort of day: the kind of day that makes you want to stay snuggled under the covers and not come out. However, the unrelenting alarm, and the sounds of a persistant mosquito buzzing around my ears, coax me from my bed and into the cold morning air. It feels good, the contrast between winter chill, and comfortable coziness. Winter has been very delayed in her coming, and though it might change again tomorrow, it's nice to get a taste of the season.

It's been a loooong time since I've posted here. And so much has happened in between. The longer
 I've waited, the more complicated the story became. So I've thought long and hard how to introduce this new stage in my life on this forum. So here it goes.

For starters, I'm a college graduate now. Thats's right, my days as a student are over and I now know everything (I've the paper to prove it). As often happens with in debt college graduates, plans were formed, and job hunts ensued. As I've graduated with a TESL certificate, teaching seemed a good place to start, so I searched for a teaching job. One that afforded some ministry opportunities. I had hoped to find something a little closer to home this time. The novelty of being a hopeless wanderer had long since worn off, and I hoped God was on the same page as I was. "We're done right?" I asked told Him, "No more new places for awhile." Well God has a habit of promptly ignoring me, when I ask tell Him how to run things, and this time was no different.

As it turned out, while finding a job in Ireland, was not necessarily impossible,  I somehow ended up emailing someone a little farther away. I'm going to make a long story very short, and say that I got a job teaching at a lovely little kindgergarten. It took some humbling, some prayer, and a very insightful and candid conversation with my sister, to realize that I actualy wanted to go. Maybe in the future there will be a time when roots can be established, when life can be a little less crazy, but that's never been what God wanted for me, and I find that I'm not ready for the craziness to stop. And I keep rolling down that hill, because who needs moss?! I take other things with me: people, experiences, loss, hurt, fear, love, and joy, all rolled together.

I've been here three months. I've setted (as settled as I can be) into life here. I'm enjoying my work at the kindgergarten, much more than I ever thought I would. Life is a constant adventure. Culture shock takes on a whole new meaning, as frustrations, discoveries, and hilarious misunderstandings unfold daily. All the while God is slowly taking me apart bit by bit: dealing with my pride and wrenching idols from my tightly clasped hands. I go to bed exhausted, and somehow wake up ready to do it all over again in a totally different way.

So God is not done with me, and I'm ok with that. The last time I wrote in this blog, I was in Ireland, but this morning I woke up in China.

It's Been Two Years...

In one of those stars

I shall be living.

In one of them I shall 

be laughing. And so it

will be as if all the stars were laughing,

when you look at the sky at night.

And when your sorrow is comforted

 (time soothes all sorrows),

you will be content that you have known me.

You will always be my friend...

I shall not leave you.

Antoine De Saint-Exupery 

The Little Prince

It's hard to believe it's been two years. It's still fresh, still bittersweet. We miss you Dustin DeFord.

Great Shot!

Remember the 19 Hotshots today, and pray for the families. 

Music Monday: Home Review

          As a general rule, after a successful, well received album, music artists tend to try and up their game with a just as good, if not better follow up. This usually translates into "go big or go home" endeavor. Josh Garrels, judging by his scaled back follow-up to successful Love & War & The Sea In Between, disregards this rule entirely. Home is a quieter, simpler, and less lyrically dense successor, and gloriously so. 

          Given that Love & War essentially put Garrels on the map, scaling back on Home is perhaps riskier than attempting to out do his best work. It's a risk that pays off, as Garrels is the type of artist who tends to thrive in the quiet and intimate.

          Home begins with the slow, waltzing rhythm of Born Again, establishing itself as the most explicitly faith-themed of Garrels  releases. As usual, Garrels makes full use of wind and strings in this track and throughout. Born Again is followed by Colours, a contemplative, morning praise song, reminiscent of 70s soul. Garrels sounds more like the same artist behind Love & War in third track A Long Way, which incorporates brooding synth, with beautifully dense lyrics:

Father's hands work the ground

Turns the soil, lays it down

Everything done and said

Lives beyond the quick and the dead

Heritage passed along 

To the sons like a blessed song

This is followed by Leviathan, a hypnotic interpretation of the book of Job: "Yahweh gives and takes away, will you curse or bless the name, trial tests us like the flame." Garrels falsetto voice howls with intensity in the blues rock track The Arrow, demonstrating his versatility in passing through musical genres with ease. This is followed by the gentle romance of Heaven's Knife, in which Garrels croons an intimate serenade to his wife "my heart, my home." In this track Garrels echoes the world first marriage:

"Like the first man,

I was cut so deep by heaven's knife

When I awoke from my sleep

Oh My Lord, she's beautiful..."

Morning Light joyfully looks forward to the believer's future, while Always Be is a commitment of praise. Home At Last and At the Table continue with the theme of home, as Garrels revels in the joys of fellowship in the Body of Christ. Home ends with the quiet whisperings of Benediction, a beautiful lullaby from a father to his children.

     Home is a beautiful album that in all it's simplicity, demonstrates Garrels mastery as a musician and lyricist. It's a subtle and refreshing answer to the usual trappings of mainstream Christian music.

PS: You might still be able to get this album for free on Noisetrade.

PPS: For those of you who follow me on 20 Something Bloggers, I've changed by account. You can access my new account on the link at the bottom of my blog page. 

Happy Monday my peeps!

The Little Prince Trailer

Hello blog world! After seeing this I couldn't let the moment pass without blogging. One of the most iconic children's books, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is being made into a film. This film looks stunning, and amazing, and everything that is good and beautiful! Colour me excited!

PS: How fantastic is Gabrielle Aplin's Salvation in this trailer!

Music Monday: Christmas Music Edition 2014

     Well chaps Christmas is almost upon us! I'm sorry that my blog has been all Monday posts lately; December has been crazy for me. For example I'm typing this from a new timezone! That's right, I'm back in Ireland!

      With Christmas in just a few days, I wouldn't feel right not doing a Music Monday without a post on Christmas music. So, I decided to give you some of my favourite Christmas albums this year; some old and new. In no particular order:


1. Snow Angel by Sugar and the Hi Lows

2.  A Very She & Him Christmas by She & Him 

3.  Noel by Josh Groban

4. The Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album by The Oh Hellos (available for free on Noisetrade)

5.  Christmas by Michael Buble

6. Vintage Christmas by David Ian

7.  Silver and Gold by Sufjan Stevens 

8. Christmas Collection 2014 by Sleeping at Last (available for free on Noisetrade)

9.  Prepare Him Room by Sovereign Grace 

10. Campfire Christmas Volume 1 by Rend Collective

So there you have it. I love Christmas music and these are definitely some of my go-tos. If you want to check out some more of my favourite Christmas music, I've got a playlist on Spotify:

And here's the video to Rend Collective's Joy to the World, because just look at it!