Somehow immediately recognisable as Carnival Mind, the simplicity and brightness of a live acoustic guitar, strummed with clear passion for what lies ahead – 5am is the band’s latest earworm, and it’s as poetically uplifting and heartfelt as ever.
Carnival Mind have become increasingly renowned for their raw, unfiltered approach to recording timeless acoustic classics. As such, despite the breadth of influence, their sound has reached an unmistakable status – in both writing tone and overall voice. 5am proves no exception to the rule, and lights up the space with those ever-engaging vocal harmonies and even a cleanly-captured guitar solo to bridge the gap between the first and second half.
Short lines quickly released build a sense of urgency and realness amidst the colourful calm of the melody and chord progression. So much so, in fact, that a second and third listen is essential – only those repeated and harmonised lines sink in the first time around.
Ultimately we connect with the song and its lyrics all the more strongly with each revisit, and slowly but surely this sense of distance evolves into one of unity and understanding – what first intrigued, now feels like ours. That’s the Carnival Mind at work, doing what it does best.
A beautiful single, well worth a few streams to warm up the colder nights ahead.
Check out our interview with Carnival Mind for more information.
