If the production, a funky, 70s-esque beat interspersed with echoes of saxophone and drums, doesn’t pull you in, Carter’s voice in his new single, “Fragile,” featuring Appleby – smooth with great flow – definitely will.
The song follows this interesting jazz-pop pattern until the second verse where a bit of rapping comes to play and the song shows up as a multi-genre piece, which I think is what makes this track so special. “Fragile” has a subtle rhyming pattern – for example, “Take me out for breakfast/Tell me all the things that you’re really not impressed with” – that makes it beyond an artful song, but makes it an enjoyable listen. Carter cites Bon Iver and Daniel Caesar as two of his influences and this song is a blatant display of how he takes their specialties and makes it his own. Iver’s intricate, experimental production and Caesar’s deep lyricism and vocals come through in Carter’s vision, establishing himself as a unique artist. He wrote this song about “dating” the music industry and how that process can make a person feel fragile and lost. However, Carter seems anything but that as his voice and collaborative abilities bring out confidence that listeners will like in this single.
Based out of Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, Carter combines his influences with a neo-soul and indie-pop sound to create his music. He has collaborated with notable names such as Jake Vicious (Wiz Khalifa, Trey Songz, Ty Dolla $ign) and producer Andy Seltzer (Maggie Rogers, Valley, Fletcher, Chelsea Cutler) and he has performed at the popular 9:30 Club. He released his debut EP, “Self_Portrait: Vol. 1” last fall.
Written by Tatum Jenkins
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