{"id":59234,"date":"2018-04-24T16:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=59234"},"modified":"2018-04-29T21:35:34","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T20:35:34","slug":"review-charmer-charmer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-charmer-charmer\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Charmer – Charmer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A band still shy of its third birthday, Charmer<\/strong> became near-synonymous with its most obvious leanings in genre almost immediately. Founder of their label No Sleep, Chris Hansen, has said the Marquette, MI band is “the definition of Midwestern Emo”.<\/p>\n

This self-titled full-length debut from the band remains absolutely in keeping with this claim. The vein of its tracks is often overwhelmingly nostalgic and characterised by economical production and instrumentation.<\/p>\n

‘Charmer’<\/em> is certainly informed by and speaks to 90s emo, with the twinkling guitars, tempo changes and suburban yearning all present and correct. But the record works on a number of levels that make it a success beyond derivations and influences.<\/p>\n

‘Bummer Summer’ <\/em>is dynamic and direct, assuredly ambitious in structure, yet just restless enough to tie in with its appreciative nod towards Adderall. Further evocations such as ‘I’m passed out on my trampoline \/ just wishing things were like they were before’ (\u2018Roy’s Our Boy\u2019)<\/em> are vivid and never feel forced.<\/p>\n

The waves of brass that ease into ‘Pretty Over College’ <\/em>and ‘Topanga Lawrence’<\/em> don’t feel misplaced, their softness complimenting David Daignault’s distant vocals. At a minute and a half long, the interludes of ‘Death By Red Eye’<\/em> and ‘Split Plates’<\/em> are scarcely longer than the full tracks \u2014 the running time is 24 minutes \u2014 but never is there a sense that anything has been rushed, or that there would be a benefit in doubling that number.<\/p>\n

Like all great emo albums, there is a standout closing number in ‘Garden State, Like the Zach Braff Movie’<\/em>. When Daignault pleads: ‘help me find the other half of my heart’, <\/em>you genuinely wish you could.<\/p>\n

You also may wish there was more, as the line closes the album. But this is very much a case of less being more, and there is a sense that the band is aware of it. It is Midwest emo crafted by and for a generation with short attention spans, but broken hearts too \u2014 and where there is heartbreak, there will always be bands like Charmer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4\/5
\n