EP: Charlotte Carpenter – Whole
The first thing that hits you about Charlotte Carpenter’s Whole EP is the stark simplicity.
Right from the get go the clean guitar and almost haunting vocals pull you in and make it impossible to do anything other than just listen, listen and become absorbed in another world for the next 17 minutes.
All four songs, described by the beguiling songstress herself as being about discovery, contain a raw charm, an honest quality which makes it almost like listening in on something you know you shouldn’t be. Because there is very little instrumentation throughout the EP, apart from some muted drums and hushed keys, it means you focus on the honest and at times, deeply personal, lyrics.
Never is this more obvious than on the love ballad ‘Stay With Me’, a tale about desperation and trying to rescue a strained relationship – a first for the young performer. All songs are tender and emotive though, even the country-tinged ‘Sinking’.
Albeit short and sweet, the EP shows Charlotte Carpenter at her best, an extremely talented singer/songwriter who defies her young years.
Whole is out now.