With a soulful, alluring blend of R&B warmth and indie edge, Medium Build’s “Last Time” showcases Nick Carpenter at his most captivating and elegant – channeling his emotions into a deeply heartfelt and tender reflection on memory, love, and the unavoidable nature of endings.
Don't take for granted what you have until it’s lost…
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Medium Build consistently leaves us in awe, and his latest track is no different. Released on August 29 through Island Records, “Last Time” is a lush and soulful, simmering dream filled with shimmering melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and pure intensity. Nick Carpenter artfully balances the raw with the refined, the confessional with the cathartic, while revealing a fresh facet of his artistry – sensual yet smooth, seductive yet undeniably sweet. The new single resonates with a slow-burning desire, every beat thumping like an unignorable heartbeat.
Carpenter frames the song as a journey through memory and nostalgia, reflecting on the poignant clarity that comes with realizing an ending might be near: "I have this friend who is obsessed with superlatives. He often wonders about who has eaten the most Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or how many people have been drunk in the Vatican," he explains to Atwood Magazine. "Yet sometimes, these absurd questions lead to reflection. When was the last time I stayed over at my childhood best friend's house? Do I remember the last thing I said to my grandmother before she passed away? When was the last time I held hands with my first love? We never truly register these moments. They fade into the sorrow of memories."
"This song captures the feeling of leaving a significant moment and realizing it might be the final time you share an intimate moment with someone who has been a crucial part of your life," he adds. "It’s that strange sobriety that accompanies moving on. It’s the interplay of need and aversion. When will I perform my last show or eat my last banana? No one knows."
Carpenter's honest musings on the transient nature of life and the unavoidable truth of "last times" infuse the chorus with both warmth and gravity – a powerful climax where he expresses, “It might be the last time that we kissed. You always take for granted what you have until it’s missed.” His voice is a raw and heartfelt outpouring, resonating with unmasked vulnerability and unmistakable humanity. These lyrics strike with poignant clarity as his voice quivers with yearning, a bittersweet reminder of how we often fail to appreciate a moment until it is gone:
But it might be the last time
that we kissed
You always take for granted
what you have until it’s missed
So don’t take for granted
what you have until it’s missed.
From that point, emotions swell even further. Medium Build transitions from reflection to revelation, carrying the quiet devastation of the chorus into a verse filled with raw emotion and loyalty. The second verse becomes visceral and immediate, rushing through chaotic moments and connections – orange wine, unsettling news, a hole in the wall, and hushed expressions of vulnerability and commitment. Carpenter shares it all in a breathless cadence, capturing the chaos while memorializing it in real time. By the time he’s “dancing in the park” and urgently asking for “one more mouth-to-mouth,” his voice reflects both desperation and devotion: he is holding onto that fleeting spark while already etching it into his memories.
Orange wine, Airbnb
Then we got the news about Eileen
I punched a hole in the wall
You curled up in a ball
You told your friends, “He’s a loaded gun.”
Now you say that I’m the one.
Is it romantic that you’re the
only person I’ve never cheated on?
And now we’re dancing in the park
You’re really trying to relax.
It’s been so long since
I’ve seen you enjoy yourself
Not collapsed on the couch
Not frazzled
Come on, one more mouth-to-mouth.
It might be the last time that we kiss
You always take for granted
what you have until it’s missed
Don’t you take for granted
what you have until it’s missed?
This might be the last time that we kiss
You always take for granted
what you have until it’s missed
Don’t you take for granted
what you have until it’s missed.
Life embodies as many beginnings as it does endings: It’s a weighty truth to bear, yet “Last Time” renders that inevitable burden – that unescapable ache – beautifully illuminating and eternal. Carpenter’s voice rises like smoke, a blend of softness and intensity, delivering lines that pierce the heart: “It might be the last time that we kiss / you always take for granted what you have until it’s missed,” he sings in the song's heartbreakingly stunning chorus. Merging R&B smoothness with indie grit,
A soulful, alluring, and smoldering blend of R&B warmth and indie edge, Medium Build's "Last Time" showcases Nick Carpenter at his most captivating and polished – expressing his emotions in a deeply poignant and gently raw reflection on memory, love, and the unavoidable nature of endings.
