West London artist, CARI, is one to look out for in the coming years. Coming from Caribbean heritage, it seems that it informs all the work she produces. With such a small discography she is already making her mark within music. She has provided offerings to artists like Venna with the song ‘Veranda’. Effortlessly she bounces over the production, as she describes departing from someone she once cared about. ‘CARI’S HONEYMOON’, an interlude featured on Destin Conrad’s debut album ‘Love On Digital’. This song is less than a minute long but still manages to cut you deep emotionally, “and it should feel like a honeymoon / But it feels like a ticket straight to hell for two”.
“Is it still love if you have to beg for it?”, that is the question CARI asks, on ‘Colder In June’, the first song I ever heard from her. From this point on I was enamoured by her voice. The emotion depicted in her tone made me feel everything she was feeling. What makes this EP special, ‘FLUX’ , is that it is a perfect introduction to what CARI has to offer us as music listeners. Ultimately, it's a beautiful blend of jazz, r&b and folk music. Her sound already feels extremely established so early on in her career. It's both soothing and abrasive in a way that the lyrics hit you when you least expect it.
The EP ‘FLUX’ opens with ‘Luvhiii’, a song that has blues undertones, describing love as something that can almost feel violent when a person is feeling it. “You hit me like a truck / And I will never get enough”. The chorus echoes between both ears and you begin to enter this whirlwind of complex emotions with her. ‘Creatures’ is less than a minute long, over an acoustic guitar she wrestles with entering a relationship with someone, understanding that too much of herself will have to be given in order to be in it. It asks the question of whether this is something worth committing too. “Loving you is the only thing I fear”, the last words she sings. It’s almost like a cry, what is special about her music is her tone. Her tone allows you to feel everything she is feeling. This hesitancy of commitment is something many of us have experienced, it can feel short like this song or it can follow us throughout our lives. ‘Creatures of habit’, which can suggest that this is a pattern. It is not perfect, but it’s honest.
This honesty then follows onto the next track, ‘Phuckups (Hold me)’ over a striking electric guitar. Opening, “It can be lethal / How a love deferred can make the body feel sometimes”. Perhaps this is the result of this “habit” she has developed, hesitating to love. It seems so simple to recognise but hard to break, “Two prisoners to the push and pull”. Her lyricism stands out so much within this project, using a metaphor to describe how far she is from someone emotionally despite being around them, “But you never get close enough to hold me”. She uses strong metaphors to describe love again on ‘Bleeding’. The song is the most haunting, her falsetto floats through the background describing how this heartbreak exceeds emotional but has become physical. “Used the med degree to put more salt in the wounds / Like I was a soldier”. This heartbreak cuts through and has left her pleading. “I doubt you still give a f*ck but I’m bleeding right now”.
The EP brings us home with the title track ‘FLUX’. This song discusses the uncertainty of young adulthood. The word “Flux” can be defined as “the process of pulling in and pulling out”. This is very accurate to what it feels like to be young in uncertain times. “Wish I could reach inside but it’s far now / Confidence so fleeting / Feel like a star now but I'll probably feel different tomorrow”. As a young person at times you can feel on top of the world. As if you have it all figured out. Then the next day it feels as if you do not know what is going on. This song perfectly encapsulates this feeling. The song leaves us repeating the chorus, “Now / Guess we’re in flux now”. It seems she is accepting of these constant changes, that it is just a part of life.
Genre is an interesting thing, at times the labels can be quite limiting for Black musicians. But for CARI, it seems that she is pushing this genre further. How far can R&B go? In its tradition it has allowed black women to discuss their romantic desires. In this project she explores themes beyond this, heartbreak, uncertainty and love. All in the space of twenty minutes. What I love most about this project is the somberness, but also hope. Especially in the way it ends, “we’re in flux now”.
