”No I’ll never be all right, but maybe I’ll get close…” Charlotte Sands sings vulnerably on the single “Alright,” as she now has a true home for the great song on the Good Now EP. Sands stormed onto the music scene by being at the tip of the tongue of bands, like The Maine and Sleeping With Sirens, with key collaborations on singles such as “Loved You A Little,” and she continues her trajectory in the right direction with this latest collection of songs found here. The EP finds Charlotte Sands exploring the realm of possibilities that she can take her music next, and makes all the right moves on arguably her most dramatic and immediate record to date.
The EP opens cautiously with the title track as she admits, “Had a vision / That I’m on stage, and nobody’s watching me / I’m afraid that I’m who I’ll always be.” Her insecurities are instantly relatable in a music scene that is filled with “here today, gone tomorrow” artists struggling to find their footing. What makes Charlotte Sands different is her dedication to her songwriting craft that seems to be blossoming at just the right time.
”Lost” picks up the tempo with a synth-laden, club ready anthem that even pop mainstays like Lady Gaga would be jealous of. On the second verse, Sands bring up her past by confessing, “Eighteen in the city / Got as high as the ceiling / Mixed emotions with Adderall / Thinking nothing could kill me / Barely making a living / Get me out of the city.” As she revisits the person she was before she became a household name in the music scene, her crisp vocals paired with the frenetic beat showcase an artist willing to bare her soul for all the world to see, and relate to.
Other songs like “Tantrum” invite the listener into her headspace as she sings with triumphant fury, “I’m outta patience / And I’m seeing red / My thoughts are burning / A hole in my head / Wish I could bury it down / Til it’s dead.” It’s a song that rocks as hard as the passion Sands puts into it, and it makes for a great listening experience.
The back half of the EP kicks off with the aforementioned “Alright,” while the ballad “Lovesick” has a memorable, breathy chorus on the heart-wrenching song of, “I wish I was love sick / I wish I felt nauseous / Crying cause you didn’t call / Don’t know when I turned it off / I miss my heart racing / Scared to death of breaking / I wish so bad I could fall / But lately I don’t care at all / I wish I was love sick.” The song reminded me a bit of the love torn anthems from Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, and yet Charlotte Sands has a style that really complements her voice. Things land on the right footing with the closing song of “Six Feet Under” that rocks along like an Avril Lavigne punk rock song, with equally pleasing results.
Overall, there’s plenty to love on Good Now, and it shines the bright light on Charlotte Sands booming music career that is exploding in the best of ways for her. She is taking full opportunity of this moment in time, and never relinquishes the stranglehold she has on these songs that are brimming with limitless possibilities of where she could take her music. If the EP has any faults, it’s that it ends too soon, but knowing the work ethic that Sands puts into her career, my money is on us not having to wait too much longer to hear what path her journey takes her next.