Medium Build on Love, Loneliness, and Letting It Be Ugly
Photographs by Sara Regan
Fresh from a jog in the park and a morning at the spa, Medium Build (a.k.a Nick Carpenter) mosies into the room with a toothy grin. Penning devastatingly raw lyrics with vocals to match, I wasn’t sure what to expect upon meeting the American singer-songwriter. Safe to say mismatched pink and white Crocs weren't on the list of expectations. But as we sat down to chat, Carpenter's boyish charm and gentle demeanour allowed for a candid conversation about self-love, songwriting and the absurdity of life.
From humble beginnings from a church-going middle-class family in Georgia, Carpenter released his debut album Falling Apart way back in 2016. Since then, he has garnered a loyal and ever-growing fanbase, opening for artists such as Tyler Childers, Lewis Capaldi, Role Model and most recently Alex Warren on his Australian tour. Carpenter's album, Country, released in 2024, is what really put him on the map. A deeply earnest record exploring love, home, family and loneliness.
Released in June, Drug Dealer digs deep into feelings of isolation and yearning. A soft, folksy acoustic track, Carpenter explains, “I just love that obsession that a lot of us have with our baristas, or our bartenders, we’re all looking for people”. The track crescendos as violins are introduced, building as Carpenters' vocals soar, we go, and on, and on lookin’ for someone(lookin’ for someone who can save us), “I wanted to have this tender thing, I wanted to have that feeling of floating”. The track is devastating and relatable, but not without a little bit of cheek “The third verse is for me. Like, fuck yeah, I'm in love with that songwriter. He says everything I feel” Carpenter laughs as he recites his own lyrics.
The opening track of Country is Beach Chair, a rough-around-the-edges love letter Carpenter wrote to himself that isn’t self-indulgent, but brutally self-aware. “I've written a lot of like, the drunk guy at the bar, or, like, fuck me, it's not working out again. I'm really good at seeing the situation and picking it apart. And my friends have said you're so good at paying attention to stuff and noticing what's fucked up. Would you be able to notice nice things about yourself and be gentle with yourself?” Thus, Beach Chair was born. ‘Cause you ain’t shit, but I love you / you need work, but i reckon it can be done // . In an interview with CLASH Magazine, Carpenter said “if you can’t get past an out of tune guitar and a kick sample, you don’t get the record”, when I asked what he meant by that, he explained “when I started Medium Build, I kind of intentionally have always kept it ugly because it was my truest, realest honest self, You have to not take it so seriously”. Carpenter isn’t interested in making music for the masses, he goes on “you can't appeal to that many people without stressing the fuck out. When you're trying to hit a home run for a million people, you can't really say anything too honest. Give me more people being honest and rude”.
With almost a decade worth of music, Carpenter released Takeaways in March 2025, a 3-track EP reimagining one track from 3 separate albums. White Male Privilege, Miseryy and Bigger. Each track is almost completely unrecognisable from their original releases, although maintaining the lyrical quality. “I was a good songwriter before I was a good producer, so the songs are good, but I was bad at projecting. Maybe I was embarrassed at how genuine the lyric was, so I would cover the track with crazy production, or put a filter on this entire vocal so you can barely hear what I'm doing. I guess I'm not as embarrassed now about what I was saying, and I wanted to trim the hedges and show you how cute it is”.
Carpenter's latest release Last Time is a surefire banger and a new sound for the artist. A 70’s groove that pulls you right from the first riff, “we had made a really heavy tune about my alcoholism, and then we made a really sad song to my exes. I was like, cool, I've done all my therapy, can we do something fun?”. Last Time is a reminder that nothing lasts forever and you never know when you do something for the last time. But it might be thе last time that we kissed / You always take for granted what you have until it's missed / Don't you take for granted what you have until it's missed // Discussing his new sound, Carpenter revealed “it takes time, sometimes a decade to match what you love, to what you make. I love groovy, I love bops. I love dancing. I want to make fun music.” The track is accompanied by a suitably silly music video, shot entirely on VHS, depicting Carpenter dancing shirtless in a sun soaked studio.
With such an earnest and ever-evolving discography, it’s clear Medium Build is an artist who continues to explore the depths of human experience, all while reminding us to embrace the joy and absurdity along the way. “We just are here. It's a really silly accident, and if you think too much about it, you realise it's kind of pointless and kind of a joke”.
When asked what he wants people to take away from his music, he responds, “a good laugh, and a good feel. I’m trying to catalogue how fucking dumb and crazy and silly and depressing and great this little 60-70 year treat that we get is”. Ultimately, his music serves as a poignant and playful reminder to savour every moment of our fleeting existence.
