CD Odyssey Disc 975: Sera Cahoone

I felt out of sorts today, without being able to put my finger on why. Fortunately this next album’s somber thoughtful songs were just the right balm for my restless energy.

Disc 975 is…Deer Creek Canyon

Artist: Sera Cahoone

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? Sera sits in the woods. This scene reminds me of the kind of coniferous forests I grew up near. I’m a city boy now, but every now and then I miss a long walk in the woods.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review of this album in a music magazine (I forget which). When I checked out the music I liked it even more and ordered both this record and 2008’s “Only As the Day is Long” (reviewed back at Disc 943) through my local record store. Support your local record store!

How It Stacks Up:  Cahoone has made three albums so far (a fourth is being released in March). Her self-titled debut is hard to find, so I only have two: “Only As the Day Is Long” and “Deer Creek Canyon.” Of the two, I put “Deer Creek Canyon” first. I’m looking forward to seeing if the soon to be released “From Where I Started” can challenge it.

Ratings: 5 stars

“Deer Creek Canyon” is an album that puts you in a state of contemplative grace. It isn’t like your troubles are gone though. They are very much still there, summoned like ghosts by Cahoone’s high ethereal voice. Rather, it is like being in the enchanted forest on the cover where it isn’t exactly safe to wander in there, but the discoveries are worth the risk.

This is a record that sounds like an evening confessional, full of the doubts and fears and hopes you only have the bravery to speak aloud when the light is low. When most of us express ourselves in those moments it is halting and uncertain, in a voice so quiet that our companions might ask us to repeat it, but we don’t dare.

Cahoone does dare, and while her voice is soft it is equal parts certain. She knows exactly what makes her shiver, and she’s not afraid to share it with the world. For all this, the album never feels gloomy or self-absorbed. “Nervous Wreck” is a good example, When Cahoone sings “I’ll be alright but I’m a nervous wreck” she makes it clear she’s feeling awkward and troubled, but she knows deep down things are going to be OK. Musically, the song is the perfect match for the words, tripping forward with a skittering energy on front of the beat. Cahoone sings “I’m a nervous wreck” as the melody resolves almost perfectly – but not quite.

My favourite example of this is on the title track, a rolling piece of perfection that feels like a trip out to sea at night. Cahoone sings:

“All the love I have here sometimes it’s just not enough.

Forget you in the summer by fall I always want you back

Oh the mountains are red and the rock fallin’ down”

With the melody falling down with regret at the end of each line, before a frail line of hope lifts the tune and she sings:

“and I know you’re right

I should just take a little time

Deer Creek Canyon’s where I’m from.”

And the way the tune walks down as she names the titular location you realize everything is going to be OK. It is that deep relaxation you get when you sink into your favourite chair, or sip your favourite whiskey, or just come home from a little restless wandering. I can feel the tension flow out of me just hearing her sing that line. I don’t know if Deer Creek Canyon is real or just an artistic construction, but in that moment it isn’t just real, its home.

Cahoone’s vulnerability is like a tangible thing on this record, a hunger that feeds her. On “Anyway You Like” when she sings: “’Cause I’m already in your life so take me anyway you like/I’m right in front of you” it is the sexiest thing you’ll ever hear, but it’ll just make you want to give her a hug.

This is a quiet record, and often with those kinds of records I find it takes a few listens and a lot of alone time for them to sink in. Not here, though – from the first bars of the record’s opening track, “Worry All Your Life,” I felt like I was listening to a longtime friend. The record is filled with wisdom, wrapped around purposeful but unforced melodies that catch your attention without ever shouting.

The opening song challenges you with:

“How you gonna grow if you don’t know you’re dragging you down

You’ll waste the rest of your days if you worry all your life.”

It sounds like an admonishment standing stark on the page, but actually it’s just the record gently shaking you awake. “Deer Creek Canyon” invites you to look around, see both the forest and the trees, and stop worrying about which one you’re supposed to be looking at.

Best tracks: All tracks