In Conversation with Carter Faith
Late Bloomer?! Not anymore.
While North Carolina native Carter Faith considers herself a late bloomer in many aspects of life in her hit single of the same name, she definitely isn't a late bloomer in the country music industry. At just 24, she has already amassed a large following of dedicated fans and dropped multiple singles and EPs, including her most recent album, The Aftermath.
Faith is known for her unique country sound, which is, at times, delicate and longing while, at other times, forceful and confident. Her relatable lyrics and catchy melodies resonate with audiences around the world, and her most popular songs are "Late Bloomer," "Greener Pastures," and "Wild." She has also sung with country music icons Little Big Town, Keith Urban, and Willie Nelson. Earlier this semester, Wavelengths DJ Emily Owens of Country in the City got to speak with this up-and-coming star.
Country music has historically been its own genre, separate from the mainstream pop music most young Americans listen to. Faith was "born and bred country music" but also enjoys listening to other artists like Lana Del Rey and Charli XCX. She wants her music to blend country music with other genres and continue to bridge the gap, resonating with audiences who may not have grown up in the rural areas country music usually describes.
Faith said, "With this EP and going forward, I want to bring that all in. I don't have to just do country music because I'm a country artist. I think there's a lot of country essence in Lana Del Rey's music [like] the storytelling. That's where I resonate with country. It's not these dirt road stories. I didn't grow up on a dirt road. I grew up in a poor middle-class neighborhood, and for me, that's still just as country. I'm trying to mix the world of country music (...) and the eras of country music (...) with who I am as a girl. A Lana Del Ray Charli XCX-loving girl who has these feelings and wants to say f*** in songs because that's the only way I feel like I'm going to get my point across. Mixing these worlds that don't really mix a lot is what I'm trying to do moving forward."
Faith's new album, The Aftermath, is all about being in your early twenties. She was very open about how much growth occurs in your twenties and how things can change so fast at this age.
"So much life happens in every day," she explained in the press conference. "I feel like I'm always changing, and it's terrifying. (...) I get over a feeling, and then it smacks me in the face the next day. The feeling of being a late bloomer, for example. I felt like that all growing up. You feel like you get over those feelings; you find your confidence, and then something else happens, like a terrible breakup, which is what I went through. And it puts you back at that vulnerable feeling again. So I think, for me, that's what these songs are. Some of the very specific stories in them I'm not going through anymore, but [I'm still going through] the feelings. I hope people find their own stories in the songs as well."
She also wants to highlight the messiness of this period as a young adult, showcasing the good and the bad of life, love, and self-identity.
"I just remember growing up and people being like your early twenties are the best time of your life. And I would like to say they might be the worst. But you don't want to waste them. I think there's this feeling of being young and having this independence and no responsibilities (or not as many as you will one day). And so that limbo period of going from teenager to adult is really painful, I think, and really confusing."
She compares falling in love to being like Alice falling into Wonderland, which was the inspiration for her new song, Alright. It's exciting and wonderful yet weird and disorienting all at once. "I'm so sick of the songs that are like ugh [love] is so beautiful, amazing, and perfect because that ain't real."
Faith writes her music to reflect this outlook, writing in the song Aftermath that love can be "The best and the worst thing that I've done with my time."
When she reflects on what she wants her listeners to gain from listening to her music, Faith says, "I want people to not feel alone. My sanctuary growing up was putting my headphones on and listening to music in my room in the dark, and I never felt alone doing that. (...) When you're listening to music, you're like this is for me; this is my experience. (...) I do music because that's what music did for me."
Faith was very shy and cautious growing up. She admits that she still has a lot of social anxiety but says, "I have that in me, but I think I've learned about myself that when I succeed, it's because I listen to myself and I trust in my feelings and my emotions and my gut. And so that's what helps me keep that confidence even when sometimes it's a fake confidence that I'm telling myself to have. I think that is mixed with finding the people who are kind to you, care about your ideas, and respect you. I feel like respect is such a stupid word to use, but it's so real. Having self-respect is more important to me than always having confidence because as long as I respect myself, I can love myself through the insecurity and push myself to be confident. (...) I think self-respect is how I'm learning to be a woman and an adult who can walk in a room and be like yeah, I'm here, and I know why I'm here, and I deserve to be here."
Faith originally came to Nashville to study songwriting, a passion that had developed from her love of words and poetry. However, after landing in Nashville, Faith struggled to find her inner voice. She had many people telling her that they knew who she was, even when she didn't. While a lot of her previous songs resonate with her now in a different way, she's finally discovering who she really is through her music and her personal struggles, like the breakup that she writes about in her new album.
This new album highlights a changing point in her career as she remembers who she is and what she wants to do. After a lot of self-reflection, the songs she ended up putting out on her new EP were the songs she felt showcased the true, authentic version of herself that had been in her all along. During a really difficult time in her life, Faith shares that these were the songs that reminded her who she was.
She's starting a new chapter with The Aftermath. While the move to Nashville was a big adjustment, Faith finally feels like she isn't the "new girl" anymore and is finding her place, centered on herself and her stories. She relates it to moving to college.
"I don't think it takes a month. It takes years for me at least to get situated and be like, okay, I'm here now; I'm not going home. This isn't summer camp. I am in this world that I've been trying to get into, and let me use it now. It's really exciting and scary as everything is."
Faith has a lot more great music on the way and has recently been recording a new record. Want to see Carter Faith perform live? She will be coming to Webster Hall in NYC on November 11th with Luke Grimes! Get tickets here.