I turned on “Welcome The World” late in the evening – and the very first bars of the guitar made me put down my phone. Liverpool musician Carlos Grassot recorded it thinking of his son. “Welcome The World” concludes the quartet of EPs “The Child And The World”, but I heard in it not a finale, but a parting word – an attempt to peer into the world that will go to his growing son. Recorded at Crosstown Studios with producer Jon Lawton, the release sounds remarkably alive.
At the third minute, an old Native American proverb comes to mind: we borrow the earth from our children. Before, it seemed like a beautiful metaphor, now – like an unpaid bill.
The recording opens with “Wasting Songs”, featuring an aggressive riff and raw vocals – a protest in which hope still flickers. In “We Won’t Be There For You”, the acoustics and rhythm section intertwine so naturally that it seems as if it couldn’t be any other way. The emotional center of the EP is “The Wild”: a string quartet, piano, and velvety backing vocals assemble into a small tragedy, laying bare a father’s anxiety and helpless drive to protect his child. The final “Away On The Road” brings acceptance, where fear finally recedes.
The world we leave to our children is not an inheritance, but a debt. And “Welcome The World” is Carlos Grassot’s honest receipt that he is trying to pay it back.
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