Charlotte Carpenter - How Are We Ever to Know?

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 29 / 7 / 2016

Label: Let it Go Records
Format: CDS

intro

A true independent, Charlotte Carpenter delves deeper into her love of the blues on her latest EP, inspired by the break-up of her first serious relationship

‘How Are We Ever To Know?’ is the sixth EP from singer-songwriter Charlotte Carpenter. The fact that this gifted artist still has to release her debut album and is sticking to the EP format to get her music and messages across is just one facet of what makes Charlotte stand out in an overcrowded sector. Most new artists would maybe try their luck with an EP before collecting their best songs to date into their debut album. Not so with Charlotte, as over the course of six EPs we can chart her progress and where she was coming from at various points in her life. Although there has been a blues element to some of Charlotte’s songs previously, especially coming to the fore on a couple of tracks on her last EP, ‘The Fault Line’, this latest collection of five songs explores that side of her music more deeply. To quote Charlotte, “ This EP is chronological of what happened during the demise of my first serious relationship…each track expresses a different shade, colour or feeling right from before the break up happened to months after.” So using the blues to convey her feelings was not only a natural way to go, but it’s also made this music so much more affecting. The best music is made, especially coming from genres such as the blues and soul, when the artist has lived through the songs. The way Charlotte articulates her feelings in these tracks will touch anyone who has loved and lost. Her pain, frustrations and thoughts are there on the surface. Nothing is hidden away in these songs. It’s Charlotte’s thoughts laid raw and emotional and all the more honest and rewarding for that. Charlotte’s vocals have had a childlike quality in some of her earlier songs, especially the tracks that revealed her more poppy side but there’s little of either shown in the opening cut, ‘Am I Alone In This?’. Charlotte’s vocals have the harder edge displayed over a couple of songs on her last EP, and while her frustration is apparent in her voice it’s almost a restrained frustration. Her love of the blues is obvious. The raw guitar is verging on being spooky, the subtle organ punches and pounding drums all painting such a vivid picture in the listener's mind. While the sparseness of the musical backing adds to the menacing feel of the song, there’s not a sound that doesn’t hit home. It sends shivers down the spine. ‘Contracts’ follows and begins with just Charlotte’s almost whispered, menacing vocals, alongside that wide yet lonesome guitar sound which gives the song much of its texture and feeling. “My lips ain’t a contract, and my heart ain’t a lock/If you’re gonna leave me babe, then my heart ain’t gonna stop”; cutting lyrics that match the sparse yet intense music that accompanies Charlotte’s determined vocals. ‘Electric’ follows the same pattern, but with a catchy chorus and a short guitar break that sends the song into another orbit; with that organ still weaving in and out of the song it makes this track the one that you will remember long after the EP has played out for the first time but not the one that will keep drawing you back time and again. For all the sparseness displayed on ‘How Are We Ever To Know?’ there’s something in the production and performance of songs like ‘Last Love’ that demand repeated playing. After living with the songs for a while they will still be revealing hidden nuances with almost every listen. The closing ‘Burn’ is possibly the most beautiful song Charlotte has yet recorded. It’s a brooding swansong to her dying relationship, looking both to the past and to the future. It’s one of her most affecting songs. “Darling, the blame’s on me,” she sweetly sings in another chills down the spine moment. If an artist gets it right, listening to an EP of their work will leave you wanting an album, but there’s a strong feeling that Charlotte Carpenter has made a smart move here by building up a following over the course of six EPs, each one slightly different than what has gone before. Certainly this latest set of songs is the perfect vehicle for an EP. Charlotte has neatly and eloquently presented a period of her life in music clocking in at just under twenty minutes, which is almost an album anyway for some artists, and in doing so doesn’t waste one second in getting her feelings out and across. There’s more to enjoy and discover here than in albums running to twice the length. Here’s hoping that Charlotte continues to do things her own way. She’s certainly bucking the trend set by many of the female singer-songwriters currently doing the rounds. Released on her own Let It Go Records label, ‘How Are We Ever To Know?’ is Charlotte’s most ambitious and rewarding set of songs to date.

Track Listing:-

Band Links:-