25 February 2024
Newsdesk
Medium Build, the singer-songwriter born Nick Carpenter, announces his forthcoming album Country, due 5th April via slowplay/Island Records, and shares the lead single which is out now. ‘Cutting Thru The Country’ sets the tone for the album — in the song, Nick grapples with emotions big and small while driving across the country, something he did a few times during the making of this album. Listen to “Cutting Thru The Country”, and watch the video, directed by Harrison Shook.
Talking about the making of the song, Medium Build says, “This was the only song I wrote while Jake and I were in the studio. In August, while I was driving from Alaska to Nashville, I started a little poem. I wanted it to feel like an Earl Sweatshirt song. Just bars, no chorus, no melody. We found an old keyboard and plugged it in. Found some wild tones and I did like 6 takes of the vocal. Probably the easiest tune we made on the album.”
Country comes as Medium Build grapples with the meaning of home— he splits time between Anchorage, Alaska, where he’s become something of a hometown hero these last few years, and Nashville, where he’s close to his southern roots, and everywhere he travels in between. Country is about the journey (both physically & mentally) Nick’s been on to this point; it’s about high-highs and low-lows, and you can feel Nick wrestle with the good and the bad on each of the album’s 12 songs.
In his own words, Medium Build says of Country: “I started Medium Build in 2015 with a tape deck and some borrowed adderall. Over the near decade since, Medium Build, being a storage facility for my fears, hopes, and romantic ongoings, has weathered some serious waves. So have I. I wanted this album to have my goddamn DNA on it. You can hear my necklace crackle in the guitar takes of “Crying Over U”. You can hear Colyer’s dog ripping a squeak toy in “Hey Sandra”. I hear Cece smiling when she sang “Relief,” back in the studio with her besties after a weird long summer of recording with strangers. I wanted Country to have a human touch. I want Country to be something you love with and dance with and cry with and sleep with and lean into. You know what I’m fucking talking about?”
The announcement of Country arrives as Medium Build supports singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone across sold out dates in the EU/UK in February and March. Alongside opening for Holly, Medium Build will embark on a series of free shows throughout his ‘Cutting Thru The Highlands’ Scotland tour in March, performing in intimate venues in Inverness, Stornoway and Ullapool, before rounding off the tour in Glasgow on 7th March. Nick hopes to connect with remote communities and play shows in locations that are usually under served by touring artists - much like Anchorage. He will then headline London’s Hoxton Hall on 20th March - tickets on sale now.
Medium Build was recently announced to perform at Bonnaroo 2024 and will embark on North American headline dates in May — he’s already sold out shows in both Washington DC & New York City with new nights added. Nick recently landed a coveted spot on Zane Lowe’s Artist To Watch in 2024 list. He’s also become a favorite among the creative community with co-signs from John Mayer, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, and Lewis Capaldi (who he’s been tour support for).
The Medium Build style is open-ended, playing with acoustic and electronic textures in equal measure. He can inspire you to get down like a dancefloor messiah, with an effortless funkiness underlined by his sensitive falsetto, but the hushed whisper he sometimes sings in makes you feel like you’re the only one in the room. His voice aches with a trembling vulnerability, and there’s intentionality and emotional resonance in every word he sings. His work eagerly draws outside the clear lines of genre binaries, informed by his own personal exploration of queerness and sexual identity, drawing from classic country, ‘80s new wave, and emo in equal measure.
Medium Build Upcoming UK/EU Tour Dates
Fri 23 Feb - Simmcity, Vienna [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Sat 24 Feb - Strom, Munich [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Sun 25 Feb - Mascotte, Zurich [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Tue 27 Feb - Rockhal Luxembourg [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Wed 28 Feb - Gebäude 9, Cologne [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Thu 29 Feb - Trix Hall, Antwerp [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Sun 3rd March - Hootenanny, Inverness [Headline Show]
Mon 4th March - The Wee Lewis, Stornoway [Headline Show]
Tues 5th March - The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool [Headline Show]
Thurs 7th March - McChuills, Glasgow [Headline Show]
Fri 8 March - Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Sat 9 March - Albert Hall, Manchester [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Sun 10 March - The Engine Shed, Lincoln [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Tue 12 March - O2 Academy, Leicester [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Wed 13 March - Eventim Apollo, London [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Fri 15 March - Beacon, Bristol [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Sat 16 March - Academy, Dublin [supporting Holly Humberstone]
Wed 20th March - Hoxton Hall, London [Headline Show]
