‘SAFER HERE’ – NICK BOOTH'S EMOTIONAL DEBUT EP
Imagine Chris Martin from Coldplay and Frank Turner doing a song together. Well, Nick Booth seems to be an impeccable combination of the two in one person.
Hailing from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Nick Booth is here to send you on a feels trip. On a more serious sounding note, Booth’s new EP, Safer Here is certainly a tearjerker.
The EP dropped last Friday, and it is quite the relaxing one with its piano and acoustic guitar laced tracks. It even has an underlying Death Cab for Cutie vibe going for it.
Safer Here is five tracks, and if you are looking for a calming EP to listen to on a rainy day, look no further. Booth takes on many sensitive topics, specifically ones concerned with isolation on this EP, yet he manages to deliver an overall soothing piece of work.
With a Coldplay meets Frank Turner sound going for it, opening track “A Rush to the Head” has mellow piano backings placed under Booth’s crisp vocals. Oddly enough, “A Rush to the Head” slightly echoes tracks off Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head while remaining original.
Track two, “In the Blue” goes on to begin with a relaxing acoustic guitar beginning. Lyrically, it comes across as being stronger than “A Rush to the Head.” With dark undertones, Booth sings of isolation on this track. Its ending, in particular, greatly compliments the work of Frank Turner – Booth’s vocal twin.
Moving on, “All Wrong” goes on to grace listeners with Booth’s amazing piano skills and lyrics. He begins the song by singing of classmates lined in caskets, and overall, he delivers an emotional piece of work. The song’s accompanying music video perfectly portrays Booth’s feelings of sadness and loneliness.
Second to last track, “Give up the Ghost” brings back the acoustic backings we hear on “In the Blue.” Sadly, despite it being soothing, it is a bit of a short track. Is it bad, though? No. Could it use an extended version? Yes. It also manages to echo the work of Bon Iver, which makes a calling for an extended version even more needed.
“Body,” the closing track of Safer Here, is definitely the strongest track on the EP. With a conversational segment, emotional lyrics, and heartbreaking piano backings, this track sure does deliver. Arguably, this song will separate Booth from his soundalikes as he continues on with his solo career.
All in all, Safer Here is a great EP for Frank Turner and early Coldplay fans. Does it stand out from the discographies of its soundalikes, though? Sadly, it does not on every track despite Booth deserving attention for his incredible vocals and instrumental work.
To wrap this up, Booth certainly has a sort of experimental distinction going for him on “Body.” Let us hope to hear more of that kind of experimental work in the future, and let us hope that it separates Booth from the herd.
You can grab the new EP of Booth’s here: https://nickboothsounds.bandcamp.com/album/safer-here.
Standout Tracks: “In the Blue” and “Body”
Rating: 8/10
Freelance Writer and Photographer