The Best Albums You Probably Haven't Heard

Ilsabe O’Connell

Little Lost Cause

Independent

Little Lost Cause came to my attention back in 2005 when a lot of indie music was crossing my desk. With its run down carnival cover it quickly caught my attention, but it was the raw, soft-spoken blend of traditional country, blues, and folk that has kept me coming back time after time. In fact, this is an album that has never been far from my ears for much of the last decade.

Most of this album is musically sparse in a folk way. It hones in on the gentle touch of Ilsabe’s acoustic guitar and keeps her voice front and center, always nudging the album forward. In that way, it certainly reminds of Christine Kane and early Jen Chapin. There are a number of highlights here (or, duh, it wouldn’t be included on this list, right?), but I’ll just mention a few.

The haunting “Old Konstanz,” with it’s perfectly mixed background vocals and Ilsabe’s slightly bluesy vocal delivery. It’s a little to soft-spoken to be truly bluesy but her cadence certainly gives it that feel. Meanwhile, “Carnival” ties into to the art layout and has more of a traditional country flare. At its heart it’s a wonderful love song and reminds me of the fond teenage memories I have of puppy love at the county fair where I grew up in rural Pennsylvania. The title track is another obvious highlight and moves at a slightly faster clip than much of the album. The instruments are more pronounced and the guitars are exceptional on this song in particular.

To date, this is the only album Ilsabe O’Connell has made. Like many of us (and many of the artists featured on this blog series), life has apparently taken her in other directions. I truly hope that one day she’ll release something new, but for now, Little Lost Cause is still a breath of fresh air in an overcrowded world of music. This is the sound of regular people pouring their heart into a dream and that ALWAYS makes for a memorable album.