Quick Spins takes a quick look at recently released albums to make certain you're listening to all the quality music being released these days.
Charly Bliss - FOREVER
It's hard to believe I've been following Charly Bliss for almost a decade now, and for most of that time they were a raucous group, heavy guitars delivering sprightly melodies over the lockstep bounce of bass and drums, topped off by Eva Hendricks's powerful vocals. On their latest album, FOREVER, the band switches things up, kind of.
FOREVER moves the band sound into even poppier territories, replacing much of the guitar sound with sharp and slinky synths. This isn't so much a left turn as it is a progression of the group's sound. And since it's been five years between Charly Bliss albums, FOREVER really sees the group sharpening their lyrical approach to take you through a real journey. On one level, it's the story of a band, and its members, seeking both romantic love and career success. However, while the story they're telling is very specific to their own experiences, like all great pop music, the themes are universally accessible.
This is all sounding very erudite, but I assure you, FOREVER is also a helluva lot of fun. And while the story of the album has its ups and downs to draw you in, SPOILER ALERT, it all has a happy ending. FOREVER was introduced to the world through a string of singles, but I can't imagine not listening to it from beginning to end every single time.
Charly Bliss plays Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake St., on Friday, September 13, and tickets are still available.
Psymon Spine - Head Body Connector
Dance rock can be an abused term—most of the music described that way doesn't actually move most people to the dance floor. Psymon Spine plays DANCE rock, though. And their sophomore album Head Body Connector takes the '00s NYC downtown influences that ran through their previous albums, and continues to refine that sound to make it more their own, throwing in occasional moments of pop and psychedelia amongst the collection of monster grooves that stuffs this album from beginning to end.
Live, the power of Psymon Spine can't be tempered. I caught them last October on a blustery weeknight amidst a really small crowd, and Psymon Spine not only played as if it was a packed club, every body in the room was forced to respond. Head Body Connector has been out for a spell, but it was an album made for summer nights, so get in one this now!
Psymon Spine plays Sleeping Village, 3734 W Belmont Ave, on Sunday, August 25, and tickets are still available.
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