A simple and quaint three track EP, Alan Caruso’s ‘Caruso – Is Like So…’ feels like you’re peering into someone’s inner psyche, their consciousness, and their own exploration. If you’ve ever seen Bo Burnham’s ‘Inside’, there’s a similar energy and air that this record conveys. It’s minimal, stripped back, and really all about the themes and lyrics that Caruso is exploring on the project. Opening with a track as existentially evocative as ‘Do I Serve A Purpose’ immediately gets you on the ride and also leaves you understanding precisely what Alex Caruso is all about. The quirky yet endearing folk artist from London is singing about almost larger than life experiences and beliefs, all the while maintaining a self deprecating tonality and rather depressive tone as a whole.
I think there’s moments on the album where you can appreciate the melodic qualities he has, particularly on the chorus of the opening track. But with such a minimal and do it yourself bedroom aesthetic prevailing on the record, it’s really a lot more about the themes he’s exploring. You find yourself enjoying even the more complex and convoluted ones like on the final track but also the more quaint and easy to digest, yet difficult to stomach ones like the record’s opener.
It’s honest, vulnerable, and deeply inquisitive. That rawness and sincerity from Alan Caruso is refreshing and it makes the entire experience one to find some faith in.