If you're on the hunt for a decent indie/pop band then searching the rosters of certain labels can often be a trustworthy route to take. Finding a group that have be under the reliable guardianship of both Cloudberry Records and Matinee Records is almost a fail-safe indicator that the discernible indie fan is in for a treat. On new EP 'Dishevelled Revellers' the English band have also recruited Trembling Blue Stars vocalist Beth Arzy to provide an extra spark to Charlie Big Time's very British sounding guitar-pop tunes. Theirs is a more relaxed and less sugary sound than you might expect, high on melody and with its foundations lying in erstwhile heroes The Smiths as well as others from that era such as The Housemartins.
Because these two bands have rarely slipped out of fashion and have been aped and referenced endlessly since their heyday, the resulting songs are timeless and, naturally, include the odd witty lyric, such as the title-track's "bigger than a fat lady's dinner plate" line. Others who reference this era and genre often go hell for leather to produce exuberant and pacey, high-tempo pop. Charlie Big Time's sound is more restrained, swerving as close to Galaxie 500 as to C86. The contemplative 'The Liberation Of Love' could just about disguise itself as a Sundays track. These are songs that may not fizz enough to catapult them into indiepop stardom, but there's more than enough here satisfy the palate of connoisseurs of delicate, jangly guitars and bleary-eyed sunshine pop.
Charlie Big Time's website
Buy the EP
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got this the other day and i think its a great e.p
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is!
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