Don’t let ‘Young Enough’s sparkling, poppy demeanour hoodwink you, beneath the playful synths and cutesy vocals, there’s a wound that’s taking a while to scab over. Charly Bliss’ sophomore release is a cathartic listen, helmed by vocalist, Eva Hendricks chronicling the twists and turns of a toxic relationship. There are moments where Hendricks appears head over heels in love but as the record plays out, matters turn sour and it makesyou think earlier notions of infatuation are masking underlying themes of regret and anger.

Starting life as plucky punksters on debut LP ‘Guppy’, the four piece have since evolved into a pop-rock/punk collective on ‘Young Enough’. ‘Under You’ has the band propelling themselves into sugary-pop territory, especially when the song reaches its hyper charged chorus. It’s here where Hendricks sounds giddy with love but the line “I’ll do what you want me to” sounds sinister and controlling when it’s compared to ‘Bleach’s grazed heart. Although it plays out like a kid’s TV theme tune, there’s a sadness beneath the song’s jolly nature “he can destroy everything I like” and “cried so much I couldn’t see right” shine a light on the abusive relationship Hendricks has escaped from. ‘Hurt Me’s moody, tonal synths project a darkness that has the band’s vocalist pleading “you don’t want to hurt me” over and over again. She’ll also propose “come on let’s get something wrong” like someone facing a bad decision but the plunge has already been taken. If there’s ever a song that screams “dubious rebound sex” it’s ‘Hard to Believe’; via a rock ‘n’ roll shimmy and shake, Charly Bliss’ frontman confesses “I’m kissing everything that moves/I’m kissing anything that takes my mind away from you”. Instant fan favourite ‘Chatroom’, that begins with a sound that mimics the old-school dial up (ask your parents kids, the internet hasn’t always been super quick and in your pockets!) is a delicious poppy romp but at its core, there’s a dishevelled protagonist that’s feeding off hollow virtual relationships “I wanna see you stripped down naked” punctuates the doomed spiral of curing heartache with vacuous explorations of the flesh.

‘Young Enough’ is the sound of a tug of war between joy and sorrow; spoiler alert – joy conquers sorrow.

Words and Thoughts of Adam Williams

TOUR DATES:
9/8 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren #
9/9 – San Bernardino, CA @ High and Low Fest
9/12 – Cardiff, UK @ Clwb iFor Bach
9/13 – London, UK @ The Old Blue Last
9/14 – London, UK @ The Garage +
9/15 – Liverpool, UK @ Studio 2
9/16 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
9/17 – Glasgow, UK @ Hug & Pint
9/19 – Manchester, UK @ The Eagle Inn
9/20 – Birmingham, UK @ The Sunflower Lounge
9/22 – Champaign, IL @ Pygmalion Festival
9/23 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Audiotree Festival
9/24 – Cincinnati, OH @ Midpoint Festival
9/25 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
9/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Cattivo
9/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ MHOW *
9/30 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace
10/12 – Albany, NY @ The Linda (WAMC’s Performing)
10/13 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre ^
10/15 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom ^
10/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
10/20 – Boston, MA @ Royale ^
10/22 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^
10/26 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall ^
10/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue ^

# with Death Cab for Cutie
* with Sad13
+ with Chastity Belt
^ with Wolf Parade