Vanessa Carlton Previews ‘Liberman’ With ‘Blue Pool’ EP
Vanessa Carlton has been getting ready to release her 5th studio album, Liberman, for most of the year. It is finally tentatively set for October, but to keep excited fans happy a little longer, Vanessa has offered up a 4 song EP previewing the album. “Take It Easy” and title track “Blue Pool” will appear on Liberman this fall, but the songs “Operator” and “Nothing Where Something Used To Be” are exclusive to the EP. This is definitely a collection of songs you’ll want to hear – and there are some surprises within the EP’s 16 minutes of running time. You can listen to the songs in the playlist below:
“Take It Easy” – Vanessa first played this song in June 2012 to a crowd of eager fans. Originally, it had a sublime and heavenly quality, pairing Vanessa’s fragile vocals with lush piano and strings. It lasted only two and a half minutes. The new EP version is a full three minutes longer, and the song has taken on a more electronic vibe. A pulsing, ethereal intro fills the first minute of the track, and as Vanessa’s vocals come in, it becomes clear that “Take It Easy” has evolved into something a bit more haunting and subdued. Vanessa asks, “have you ever broken your own heart?” and ominously advises that “as your castle crumbles down, and it will, take it easy.”
“Blue Pool” – Tinkling, high piano gives “Blue Pool” a ballerina music box atmosphere at first, but only until Vanessa comes in with a strummed guitar and a foreboding indie mood. It’s eerie in a similar way to “Take It Easy,” but that quickly fades away by the time the extended outro kicks in. The last minute of the song is a kaleidoscope of “swirly piano” – as Vanessa described it in June – and gives “Blue Pool” a colorful exit.
“Operator” (Live Living Room Session) – Though it will not appear on Liberman, “Operator” is one of the highlights on the Blue Pool EP. It becomes clear, by the bridge of the song, that this is actually a track that fans have been waiting for since 2010. In late May five years ago, Vanessa tweeted about a song called “Moneymaker” that she was recording for her fourth album, 2011’s Rabbits On The Run. The track didn’t appear on that record, but hope was reignited when a 2013 photo of Vanessa’s blackboard showed a handful of song titles, including “Moneymaker.” The song wasn’t announced for the Liberman track listing, but here it is on this EP – a live version with a new name, but likely the same song. “Operator” is conversational and brutally honest in style, and captures a certain energy found in Vanessa’s earlier albums.
“Nothing Where Something Used To Be” (Live Living Room Session) – Another highlight is, incidentally, also not a cut from Liberman. Fans originally knew of “Nothing Where Something Used To Be” as “Do It” – Vanessa tweeted some lyrics from the song in October 2012: “I didn’t say but I was sad to see you go/you went back to the ghost/I went back to what I know.” Vanessa eventually announced the newly titled “Nothing Where Something Used To Be” as track 6 on Liberman back in spring 2014. Apparently that plan has changed, as it is now confirmed not to appear on the album. Nonetheless, this is perhaps the friendliest sounding song on the EP, led by inviting and delicate piano and vocals. It feels sad and reflective, yet Vanessa assures that “if it can last, then it will last.”
You can buy Vanessa Carlton’s Blue Pool EP on iTunes now to get all four songs. You may also want her one-off single “Young Heart” (which will not be otherwise released). Vanessa’s upcoming 5th album, Liberman, is expected to be out this October. More details about that will be announced soon, but for now you can read up on everything we know about the long-anticipated album. Keep checking back here for all the latest Vanessa Carlton music news.
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