Carrie Welling has released her full debut album titled High Heels and Heavy Things.  Originally, the album was supposed to drop in April of this year, but things had to be moved to September, as 2020 has not been the best year for artists.  This album was worth the extra wait. It is a mix of various genres that come together to form a cohesive and multi-layered album.  

The majority of this record was produced by Eric Holljes of Delta Rae, and the title track was produced by Alex Wong.  Carrie was joined on the album by the talents of Brianna Sage, Gabriel Klein, Gideon Klein, and Eric Holljes.

She takes her listeners on a journey through life and love from song to song.  Self love and affirmation songs come up against themes of heartbreak and longing.  

Right from the start, “Settle Me Down” aims at getting toes tapping.  Not everyone is built for settling down and staying in one place, some people are just more free spirited and will settle when they’re ready.  The backing percussion in the track hits hard and punctuates the strong feelings. 

Track three takes a deep dive from the upbeat and happy first tracks.  She sings about wanting to be with a person, but their heart is still broken.  In order to be together that person needs to “Hurry Up and Heal” to see how much she wants to be with them.

Then her signature song comes at you.  “Good To Me” was the first single off the record.  This song is all about making it a point to be good to yourself and doing what you need for your own well-being.  Don’t be surprised if you find yourself swaying along to this tune.  If you feel like you’re going through life and not living for yourself, this is the song to listen to.  Carrie puts that emphasis into her music when she sings about “finally” being good to herself. 

Carrie opens up the tear floodgates with “I Don’t Want To Be Friends With You”.  Have you ever loved someone so strongly, but couldn’t tell them?  Wanted to be more than friends with someone?  Then this song is what you need.  This is not your typical longing love song though.  She sings about the mundane things that being together means.  From being someone’s airport ride to spending holidays together and making that person happy.  This song has beautiful lyrics sung over the gorgeous, melodic piano playing of Eric Holljes.  

The members of the band Delta Rae join in on the song “Standins”.  The harmonies that the band has in their own music add a depth to this song behind Carrie’s voice.  As the song progresses, the layers and intensity builds up until the last section where they belt out the chorus.  The addition of the backing vocals bring out an intensity to Carrie’s voice and bring the whole song up to another level.  All of this is to say that there is such passion in this song, that it is undeniable.

Who says you need money to have a good time?  Not Carrie.  On her track “Money”, she sings about just heading out on the road.  The lines “cause I’ve paid my tolls, gonna free my soul” speak to the world.  She is ready to take to the road and free herself from the oppression in her life.  

An unexpected thing for this album can be found on the physical CD jacket.  The list of executive producers is quite long.  Don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize any of the names, though.  This album was partially funded by her fans.  Carrie is very active on her Patreon platform, and credits this album to her fans.

STREAM HIGH HEELS AND HEAVY THINGS

Spotify | Apple Music