Pleasure and Pain

posted in: Artist Features • Pop

Canada’s Eastern seaboard is well known for its excellent folk rock and indie pop scene, so it’s no surprise that Carmel Mikol is an artist on her game. With a strong, clear voice and a bright guitar, she keeps to the sunny side of the street. Funny Little Habit is a gleaming acoustic pop nugget, a tale of dysfunctional love wrapped up in cheerful self-deprecation. Likewise, the country-tinged Sunny Days offers more musings relationships gone off the rails, this time with bright and grassy acoustics, soft drum beats and not a drop of bitterness to be found. Hometown is probably her most complicated track, both musically and emotionally. Singing of the return to a small town life, Mikol’s voice sails poignantly while deliberating the act of settling down. Somber and evocative, this is the closest Mikol comes to a playing a dirge. As likable as her upbeat material is, a sad song done right is the one that often stays with you. Here’s to more moping.