Ships Have Sailed - Someday (Self-Released)

Ships Have Sailed, the brainchild of L.A. musician Will Carpenter is releasing their debut EP, Someday, a powerful collection of ambitious and sensitive pop. A guitarist for the hip-hop rock group 7Lions, this project came about as a collection of songs that didn’t quite fit in with the group. It’s a good thing he decided something to do something with these songs, because it would have been a real loss if he hadn’t.

Although many of the six songs here have an uplifting feel in their sound, there’s an undercurrent of cathartic release and darker emotions beneath it. The opener, “Midnight”, captures this sentiment perfectly. There’s a feeling of cautious hopefulness for the future, but there’s also a lot of uncertainty lurking underneath. After the wide expanse of “Midnight”, is the beautiful, stripped and acoustic “Clouds”, continuing the theme of quiet enthusiasm while retaining a certain hesitance.

“Bring You Down” sounds like a typical break-up song, but in reality is anything but. Once again building upon that sense of hidden melancholy, it’s a song that puts the blame of everything upon the narrator, refusing to let the couple in question ever get back together because of his own crushing faults.

“Just to Get Through” sadly yet accurately details the feelings of depression and wasting the day away because of it. “Someday” leaves the EP with an almost hopeful sensation that things will get better, but not yet. The careful pop production makes this album a much easier listen, and may even distract from what he’s really saying but it’s likely it would have been too heavy of a record without it. It’s heavy stuff, but this is about as honest as it gets these days.