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46. Carry the Ghost - Noah Gundersen (2015)

Indie Rock

Noah Gundersen was “discovered” and subsequently yanked out of obscurity by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, who repeatedly featured Gundersen’s music on the show. In the years since, Gundersen has not allowed his relatively modest success to dampen his grandiose vision one bit. His music has evolved dramatically since Family, the EP that caught Sutter’s ear, from being various very-well-executed boy-and-his-guitar tunes to more of a bonafide rock musician on later albums. Carry the Ghost is Gundersen coming into his own as an artist, forgoing some of the tropes of singer-songwriters come before him and exploring a wide range of sounds and styles as a conduit to get out his creative juices.

Much of the album remains minimal and delicately understated. Thankfully, amidst all of the flourishing musicianship and production, Gundersen never loses sight of what brought him success in the first place. His knack for heartstring sniping, for making you feel like he’s singing to you and you alone, is on full display here. Jaw-droppingly vulnerable lyrics are everywhere. There’s no pretense to see through or character being played, just an honest man who’s acutely dialed into the common denominators of the human experience. The climax is “Heartbreaker” a slow burning, soul-baring epic that builds into the best example of Gundersen’s evolution into a true rock star. 

*image; cover art for the album Carry the Ghost by Noah Gundersen