Carswell and Hope: Exit Plan Album Review
Carswell & Hope Exit Plan
Carswell and Hope’s Exit Plan shows its folky, singer-songwriter roots packaged as a collection of stories about women and the impact on their life in an indie pop bundle. The first song on the EP, Cordelia, pulls you in with a building hypnotic beat, utilizing production reminiscent of 90s alternative, pop rock forcing your head to bob along. Abilene, the second track, starts you off with straightforward drums and a little sassy 1, 2, 3, 4. Light piano repetitions along with a doubled vocal gives the song a fuller sound as the song vows to “never forget you” or at least to never forget that Abilene. The title track, Exit Plan then pulls it back to a retro doo wop sound and you think you know where the song is going to go until it transitions into a classic smooth-sounding rock guitar line. You almost know why, “no one here can know the exit plan.” The fourth track, Nobody Home, deviates the most from the EP’s holistic sound with its lighter acoustic introduction infused with a Western twang with that familiar lament of a person leaving their lover while nobody’s home. Track five, The Other Side, leads you with dancing electronic arpeggios into the last song of the EP, Seraphine. With its light acoustic strumming and shaker kept beat, you can almost hear Seraphine sing a hymn as “she paints pictures of her paradise” through Nick Carswell’s gentle melody.
Fans of bands like Vertical Horizon, the Lumineers, and Owl City, could get into this EP. To find out more about Carswell & Hope along with links to all of their social media accounts, go to their website at https://carswellandhope.com/
Cover artwork for our Exit Plan EP by Justin Marable. Streaming now at https://bit.ly/2x3gVvf
