Albums that promise a true journey, one brimming with a medley of sonic flavours and a range of emotional burnishes, will never fail to catch my ear. So, when I found out that Cartoon Carnival released his first album, ‘Writing in Poverty,’ back in April, I was more than a little intrigued.
This album is a kaleidoscope in every sense of the word, exploring both an array of genres and themes, including scarcity, hope, ambition, heartbreak, and the need for an escape. Whether you prefer dreamy ballads or tracks that singe the air under the wings of a moody electric guitar, Cartoon Carnival offers you the experience you’re looking for. Let’s not wait any longer. After you!
Writing in Poverty
It was so hard to choose the tracks that I will talk about today, but my first choice, ‘There Once Was a Woman,’ is one song I just have to tell you about. This song is all about negative space, both in terms of the minimalistic composition and the track’s heartbeat: the absence of a loved one. That said, the hauntingly poignant texture of the track is not the only reason I was so drawn to it; it takes a lot of talent and confidence to rely only on a stripped-back melody and the power of one’s lyrics to convey a heart-rending story. Of course, Cartoon Carnival pulls this off beautifully, and here’s how.
The track starts with nothing but the gentle duet between Cartoon Carnival’s silky, vulnerable timbre and the ember-delicate piano. The piano is played so softly that it produces these romantic, featherlight dynamics, and because of it, you can really immerse yourself in the tender soreness that an unhealed heart would feel. Plus, thanks to the minimalistic air of the song, you can hear the subtle breathiness that embellishes the vocal performance with such a balletic shade of heartache.
The lyrics are perfectly simple because they don’t need to be anything else. You just need to follow Cartoon Carnival as he takes you through each chapter of a love story that ended in such a painful way. For a story like that, you don’t need flowery flourishes—you just need to be unabashedly candid.
As the track wades towards its close, I was surprised to hear the ethereal hum of a woman’s voice. She doesn’t sing one word, but through her lingering delivery, you can tell that the memory of the woman that the song is about, though a vestige, still holds a place in Cartoon Carnival’s heart. This song does an amazing job of showing how, sometimes, love can leave us irrevocably wounded. I have no other words; the track is beautiful as it is deeply saddening.
The next track that I’m going to talk about is a complete 180 from what we’ve just heard. Of course, I’m referring to ‘Monster That I’m Not – Unleashed.’ Opening with ominous, gritty string work and female vocals that exude an elegantly pastel softness, this track immediately reeled me in with its Evanescence-esque flair.
Atop the crisp drumbeats and restless tempos, the vocals infuse the melody with an alluring darkness that enriches the tragedy that permeates through the lyrics. Lines like ‘You made me / The monster that I’m not,’ especially when belted out in a soaring swell of betrayal and regret, really drive home that you’re listening to someone’s downfall. That’s truly what it feels like listening to this song, like every note is painting a picture of the performer’s tragic flaw, the one thing that has sealed their unfavourable fate. Again, this is another example of Cartoon Carnival’s killer storytelling ability.
As the song continues, you get to experience a torrent of breakneck guitar notes, which serve as the herald for the upcoming crescendo. This crescendo is teeming with storm-worthy angst and eruptive melancholy, the kind that makes you feel as if you have a window into a tormented soul. In other words, this song is like a siren; it lures you in with the stunning harmony between the vocals and the instrumentals and forces you down to the depths of the bleaker side of humanity.
The last track that I’m going to show you, just like ‘Monster That I’m Not – Unleashed,’ completely flips the script. The folk version of ‘Send Me to Ireland Please’ made something abundantly clear to me—Cartoon Carnival has got some insane, chameleon-like range.
Glowing with a rural, inviting cheeriness, the track’s intro is made incandescent by an animated rill of sunny instrumental harmonies. The imagery that these harmonies evoke speaks to the quaint, peaceful nostalgia we all feel for Shire-like, fairytale worlds. And that’s only in the first couple of seconds.
When Cartoon Carnival’s voice joins this jolly tapestry, it imbues the fabric of the song with a slight country twang, which warmly elevates the homeliness of the melody. All the while, alongside every other line, there is a nimble peppering of flute music that acts as the perfect contrast to the vocals’ rich, full-bodied smoothness.
I also love that the lyrics honour nature’s beauties, including the rain, sunshine, green lands, and the Irish Sea. Not only does this inclusion inspire gorgeous, scenic imagery, but it’s a delightful way to pay homage to traditional Irish folk music.
Studded with smile-inducing surges of vivace instrumentation, the song races towards its deceptive close. You see, after that seemingly final note, Cartoon Carnival’s bright vocals reignite in a promise of more, which, in a song like this, truly feels like a gift. So, when you get to the actual, resounding final note, you can’t help but want to go back and listen to it all over again!
Ultimately, ‘Writing in Poverty’ is a versatile rollercoaster, offering, with every twist and turn, a new soundscape to explore. It’s an adventure of both sound and soul, in which you’ll want to dance to the high moments and cry at the low moments. Best of all, there are ten more tracks on this album that I haven’t even mentioned. With that said, I strongly recommend diving deep into Cartoon Carnival’s other gems; you won’t regret a single minute.
ALT: Genre-defying artist Cartoon Carnival sits on a sofa with his arms around his guitar.
Cartoon Carnival
The path that led Cartoon Carnival to his album started with a moment that we can all relate to—the moment you discover a song that inspires you to unleash your own creativity. For Cartoon Carnival, that song was none other than Oasis’s ‘Wonderwall,’ a song that he discovered back when he was 17 and working a shift at a pie factory.
Uncovering a deep love for the power of simple, emotive lyrics, Cartoon Carnival just had to know about the crucial components of his craft. Impassioned, he attended Sheffield Media College where he refined his knowledge of music production and carved out his unique style.
From there, he went on to release his debut single, ‘Hello Hero,’ back in 2017 and has since became a two-time semi-finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest thanks to his home-hitting lyrics.
With ‘Writing in Poverty’ already accumulating over 1K streams on Spotify, I don’t think it’s outrageous to say that Cartoon Carnival has the fundamentals of an artist who can really go far, one soul-stirring story at a time.
‘Writing in Poverty’ is available to listen to across all major streaming platforms right now!
Till next time.