ALBUM REVIEW: Nick Carpenter, aka ‘Medium Build’, Turns Small Moments Into Big Events on ‘Marietta’

Nick Carpenter doesn’t do things halfway. The Georgia-bred singer-songwriter, who performs as Medium Build, transforms small moments into big events in widescreen pop songs, yet retains a striking sense of intimacy. His talent was on full display earlier this year in the album Country, which doesn’t sound like roots music, title to the contrary. But it does boast the same eloquent directness that made some classic Nashville songwriters so compelling.

Named after the town in the greater Atlanta area where he grew up, Marietta continues in a roots-adjacent vein with five vivid, relatable vignettes. Carpenter’s urgent singing is marked by a mournful urgency reminiscent of Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo, giving every song the anxious edge of a 911 call.

Carpenter reflects on his parents in the surging “John & Lydia,” striving to view them as three-dimensional people, not just Mom and Dad – a daunting challenge for the most empathetic offspring. Addressing his father, he sings, “Things that were shaping you / Are things that are shaping me,” adding, “You can’t run from family.” Carpenter also recalls his mother awkwardly “trying to connect” with him when he was 15 by sharing “heavy shit that I couldn’t process.” He asks both parents, “Did I grow up into someone that you like?” He follows that poignant question by declaring, “I’m so glad we’re family.” Keep a hankie ready when you encounter this tender gem.

Featuring harmony vocals and guitar by old friend (and former Middle Tennessee State classmate) Julien Baker, the somber “Yoke” recalls Carpenter’s time at a religious college and subsequent liberation from dogma. Noting that he made “lifelong friends / Who no longer acknowledge me,” Carpenter remembers wondering how he would fare without the “invisible man guiding me,” suggesting he’s still making peace with the past.

The EP is bookended by a pair of songs exploring the meaning of genuine love. The stormy “Triple Marathon” leads off, depicting devotion at its obsessive worst. Admitting he should “loosen up my grip,” Carpenter muses, “It’s so weird to feel like someone knows me, I guess this is love,” though skeptical listeners may disagree. On a less-neurotic note, the leisurely “Faded Blue” savors early-morning dog walks with a friend, gently concluding, “I don’t know what love is, but I love this.” After the heavy emotions on display elsewhere, this charming coda closes Marietta on a beautiful note of grace.

Medium Build’s Marietta is out Nov. 15 on Slowplay/Island Records.