Nick Carpenter, known by his stage name Medium Build, has had one hell of a 2024. Despite having four studio albums and a few EPs, the folky nomadic singer has remained a secret gem to fans with excellent taste. Carpenter released his multi-genre album Cowboy in early April of this year. The 12-track project blended notes of harmonic melodies with the soulfulness of Carpenter's voice. As the year closes, after a summer filled with music festival slots and life on the road, Medium Build is back with a sonic EP, Marietta. Named after Marietta, Georgia, a place of importance to Nick Carpenter, the project builds upon the reflective year of Medium Build.
"Triple Marathon" kicks off the project with a fusion of soft rock and country influences Carpenter loves so much. It's one of the things that helped elevate the track to a more outspoken country ballad. The chorus speaks to the everlasting invite to a past no longer viable. Carpenter speaks from the perspective of a jealous potential lover in his lyrics, "I've been making lists of things to do when you come back to town/I've been getting super jealous of the people you're around." "Triple Marathon" is a tale of a person's fight to finally get the approval of another, ultimately leading to Carpenter losing himself.
On the blooming rock track "John & Lydia," Carpenter searches for common ground with his mother and father. Split between, what could be a letter to both parents, the introspective singer asks if life would be different in another life. "Would we have been friends / If we were born at the same time?/ Maybe in another life." Medium Build sees himself, throughout the track, growing more and more into his father each day. The question that stands out in the chorus as Carpenter sings is, "Did I grow up into someone you like?" It's a question every human has once asked or wanted to ask their parents.
A longtime friend of Carpenter, boygenius member Julien Baker drops in for "Yoke." The track slows down the pace of the EP to shine a light on addiction and questions of faith. On reuniting with Baker, Carpenter spoke about her being perfect for the record, "Julien’s presence on this track feels like a friend holding your hand as you share your testimony or open up at an AA meeting." The production is almost heavenly in how the sound envelopes you in a graceful guitar-backed hum.
The last two tracks, "Dad's 4Runner" and "Faded Blue," close out the EP in a whirlwind fashion. Different from the previous track, the tracks run parallel with each other as the reflection Medium Build has been searching for draws to an end. "Dad's 4Runner" speaks on the past in his relationships, while "Faded Blue" reflects on the inner child in a heartfelt blues folk style. Marietta speaks out in a fantastic display of youthful glow and looks towards an artistic vision for the future. The 5 track project is short, sweet, and a bloom of inner emotions.
