I really liked Caro Granner’s last project, Today in particular. Sad yet hopeful, honoring a good man that died in the warring wake of a bad world, she sings as terrifically as she inflects her vocal range. Take a listen to her early work stuff before I delve into her newest work.
All six of the songs on Cicada have presence, so if you enjoyed Today, set some time aside tomorrow (or now) to give the near twenty minute croon if you like Fleetfoxes as much as I do. For now, let’s tackle Helplessly Hoping and Caro’s terrific repackaging of repurposing this CSN classic.
“One of the first songs I can remember is Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping.” Every summer my family would gather together in Michigan, and my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins would join in singing the harmonies. It’s a song with a deep, nostalgic connection; the kind of song you don’t so much learn as receive, as if through osmosis” – Caro
I like it because she does what the three could not do without Neil Young to give them edge, taking sounds that remind me of latter Sufjan Stevens and propelling them to newly refurbished heights. The keyboard squarks like an electronic turkey, with the darling herself slicing emotive cadence like a master twice her age.
This song becomes something different in her hands, and with the keys keeping it murkily digital, there is a statement to her choral adorning blessing of a voice. “Confusion has its cost” sounds twice as sublime as David Crosby ever intended it to, perhaps even on the bad days when he couldn’t get Joni Mitchell out of his head.
From what I understand, this is her first single since Cicada, and while I love a great cover as much as anybody, I pray for more originals from this talented songwriter. Caro completely changes tone and tambour without shaking the intention of CSN’s classic. I hope she tries her hardest to make more original work because if she can do THIS with a staple of Americana folk rock, there is no limit to her ability to transfigure the timeless golden era sounds that predate even this humble critic.
Though her version has yet to be released, give this cover a listen once the heavy rain starts falling… or when you’re in need of some emergency audial heartbreak. She’s got the goods and knows how to sing them, so God Only Knows what she could do with the Beach boys next.
