Monday Music Review- Steve Carlson

Monday Music Review on Sunday? Yes, because Monday comes quickly and I want you to be prepared in the morning when you roll out of bed in need of coffee and a good tune to get you moving. So, for this blog, the Monday Music Review (which may become a regular feature) comes a day early because it’s my party. And that’s the way I want it.

Meet Steve Carlson.

I found Steve on the Kane (as in Christian Kane) Acoustic Live in London album. Turns out, Steve is a member of Christian’s band but he also has a solo career that has about six albums including a Christmas CD. When I’m in the mood for something peppy but reflective, Steve Carlson is my new go-to guy.

Steve Carlson is a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic and, if his songs are any indication, he’s been both on the giving and receiving ends of heartache but yet he writes about the trials and tribulations of love without making you feel sad. He’s captured the essence of “don’t cry because I’m gone; smile because I was once here”. He's found a way to marry heartache with subtle revenge, to balance the meaning of the memories with the motive to move on. With lyrics like “Stay on your side of town and keep your crowd away from mine... but don’t worry, baby doll, I won’t say everything between you and me”, Steve's Between You and Me reminds us that relationships can end without the airing of dirty laundry (but that holding that dirty laundry over their head for a little while is perfectly acceptable). Pinata Novia details the struggle to love someone who can’t love you back in the way you need them to, and haven’t we all felt like a piñata from time to time? 

Perhaps my favorite Steve Carlson song (thus far) is I Believe which was actually written to be the theme song for the Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine, a facility that helps couples struggling to become families. A beautifully written duet sung by Carlson and friend Rosalee, the lyrics include “I believe a change is around the corner and in a world that’s out of order, we still have time.” The premise of the song and the video is clearly fertility but the lyrics could be for anyone who struggles and needs to hear that better times are quickly approaching on the horizon.

Steve Carlson is a great artist to have playing at your desk or when you’re working and need some background melodies. These ballads are of loss but aren’t sad; they are peppy but not distracting and have instrumental sections that will make you sorry, very very sorry, you weren't more dedicated to your piano lessons in elementary school.

Steve Carlson's music can be found on the discography section of the link and on YouTube. Happy listening, everyone!