Vanessa Carlton – Harmonium

Vanessa Carlton followed up her debut, Be Not Nobody, with Harmonium. The album took a year to record, and was released on November 9, 2004. In contrast to her first album, which was very polished and sweet, Harmonium took on a more raw sound and was much more personal to Vanessa. She wrote most of the songs on her own, but co-wrote a few with her then-boyfriend, Stephan Jenkins of the band Third Eye Blind. Harmonium is darker and more poetic, but also a mature and mesmerizing album that demands multiple listens. The record's first single was "White Houses," a piano-driven song about growing up. It only reached number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the lack of popularity of the single led to Harmonium being a commercial failure. Vanessa's label chose not to promote the album well, and released no further singles. Ultimately, Vanessa chose to leave the label and find more creative freedom elsewhere. In spite of its lack of label support, Harmonium is a strong sophomore album that foreshadowed the sounds of Vanessa's future records. 

Highlights on Harmonium include "Who's To Say," "Private Radio," "She Floats," and "Afterglow."