“And then within a year — like 18 to 19 — it was just like the whole thing was gone.”

Carpenter admits that his songwriting since that time — at least in part — has been an act of processing the tension he experienced as a child questioning his parents’ beliefs.

While Nick Carpenter says writing about his upbringing has helped him “heal” he is now turning his songwriting lens to his queer identity and steering his newfound success. Credit: Supplied

“I think for the past, it’s been very helpful to give that kid a voice — usually the 10-year-old that felt stuck in that really weird, sticky, Christian, zipped-up place,” he says.

While he initially felt resentful of this, he says he’s since learned to feel empathy for them because of their prevailing love for him and belief they will no longer “spend forever together”.

“The things that were shaping you, the things that are shaping me. And we both know you can’t run from family.”

‘Screaming my guts out’

In Drug Dealer, which begins with the lyrics: “I think I got a crush on my drug dealer, he’s so cute when he gets high”, Carpenter says he was trying to play with the concept of suddenly becoming the object of audiences’ fascination and understanding the loneliness of being the subject of desire.

“Now I’m a bit more curious about who I can be or who I want to be,” he says of his songwriting journey.

Genre-fluid

“I think when people want to say something kind of gooey and from the core, I think a little bit of a fiddle and an acoustic guitar and a little bit of ‘stomp-clap’, that’s just a proven bed for ‘This is my authentic self’.”

As for how he is navigating the increasing success this songwriting is earning, Carpenter says the novelty of touring worldwide has started to wear off recently and sacrificing his lifestyle at home has become taxing.

“I think there’s still that little Christian kid that wants to save everybody, say yes to everyone.”