When I was in Jr. High school back in Kenosha Wisconsin I went to the yearly talent show. This was the first time I saw Carmel Mikol perform. Seeing this performance would change my life.
I was always drawn to music, but never thought that I could do it myself. Seeing this girl my age performing a song she had written suddenly opened a door that would end up leading me down the path of my life. At this point in my life, I was combating a slew of issues relating to my family and myself and was longing for an outlet. I could see salvation in this opening.
I remember asking my mother for a keyboard soon after the talent show and she got me a Casio keyboard with light up keys. Little did she know at that moment that this small keyboard would completely change my life. I began writing immediately and started learning how to play as I wrote. A little backwards, but always my way.
In high school I had a class with Carmel and we became friends. I shared with her my interest in writing, and she became a sort of mentor. We spent countless evenings after school playing songs that we had written for each other. She was far more advanced in her craft, but she listened intently to all of my fumblings as I learned to walk. This was one of the most magical times in my life, because for the first time in my life I was able to get out these shadows inside me. Through my music and my friendship with Carmel, I was finally started down the path of self-discovery and self-acceptance. It's a little scary to look back and wonder what would have been had I not gone to that talent show. I truly do not know who I would be.
Even in Jr. High, Carmel was an incredibly advanced and percosious writer. Her song "Seventeen Tomorrow" that she had written before she herself was even seventeen is still to this day one of the best songs I have ever heard.
"She's a wild horse rider, a mustang driver
Too many cigarettes for an unbroken heart
She's lonely girl on an empty sky
With hurricane hair and midnight eyes"
-Lyrics from Seventeen Tomorrow by Carmel Mikol
After high school, Carmel moved away and we lost touch only to reconnect every few years randomly. Then some time went by and I didn't hear about her or her music. I remember being afraid that she was no longer pursuing music and thinking what a loss that would be. Then out of nowhere I began to hear news of her performances in Canada (where she hails from originally). I was ecstatic. Not only because she was still writing and performing, but because it meant I would get to hear new music from her.
She released an EP called Lost Lives, which set the groundwork for her quick rise in the Canadian music scene. She followed this up with her full album In My Bones.
In My Bones is a powerful and poignant album that deals with love, loss, and the human experience with incredible wisdom and sensitivity. Crafting personal tragedy, the loss of her father whose guidance set her on the path of music, and her innate ability to translate what she sees and experiences into compelling songs, this album is a thrilling debut.
The title track starts with an incredible lyric that exposes Carmel both personally and as a skilled writer.
"We're young, then we're old
Born with a fire that burns to coals
The path of hungry living is our one and only road
We're pressed to make decisions that divide and conquer souls
Its a pity we're forgiven, cause it makes our sinning bold."
-Lyrics from In My Bones by Carmel Mikol
The whole album is full of these lyrical and musical moments that create a stunning piece. Some other notable standouts are:
Hometown- A song about the meaning of home and trying to reconcile the realities of coming home and facing a history we have tried to escape.
Escape To You- The oldest song on the album. I remember her playing this song for me back in high school. It's amazing to see how it has grown in the years since.
Blaming Myself- Probably the most pop leaning song on the album. This song has a hook you will not be able to get out of your head. It topped the East Coast Countdown for multiple weeks. This is a hit.
Colt 45- This song is sexy and sultry. Best listened to with a bottle of red.
I'll Never Find You- This track makes me cry every time. There is a longing in this song that I think all of us have deep inside, like trying to find moments lost that we can never get back. Universal and heartbreaking.
For me, this album is the realization of that girl I saw at a talent show over ten years ago. Critics have agreed, and Carmel has won multiple awards and toured cross country sharing her incredible music and stories.
To me, she will always be one of the most important connections I have ever made. Carmel and her music are the reason that I am a songwriter and thus the person I am today.
So check her out and become and instant fan.
You can find her here.
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