YOUR NEW FAVOURITE THING
Chloe Charles’ music is moody and mysterious and definitely worth a listen,
What’s the deal?
We’re not saying Chloe Charles will ever be a household name — she’s probably a little too moody and mysterious to find true favour with the Great Unwashed — but it’s still baffling that the Uxbridge-raised singer/ songwriter remains a fairly unknown quantity here at home when she’s weaving the same sort of genre-oblivious musical magic that had people fawning breathlessly over Leslie Feist a few years ago.
Feist had to venture overseas to become a star, mind you, so perhaps the mounting acclaim coming Charles’s way in Europe these days will soon give her a leg up in Canada, too.
Her recently released sophomore LP, With Blindfolds On, is a sombre, symphonic slow grower that definitely deserves a few more ears turned its way.
Produced by Charles herself, the record trips confidently through soul, jazz, folk and eerie, ethereal art-pop in its subtle, smoky examination of familial demons, romantic regret, the passing of loved ones and the search for the strength to rise above the darkness life can throw at you, occasionally allowing itself a moment of R&B-bumpin’ “Smiling” along the way.
One doesn’t encounter many al- bums that evoke P.J. Harvey, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Amy Winehouse and Radiohead in a single sitting, but that’s the sort of range with which Charles is working. Her time will come.
Sum up what you do in a few simple sentences
“I play blue- and purple-tinted soulful songs that mimic life’s dualities, ranging from giddy songs of love to despondent songs of loss. They lure you in gently under the guise of easy listening and then dramatically steal you away and put you on an emotional roller-coaster ride, all while giving you the space to create your own story. It’s the cathartic soundtrack to my life and therefore yours.”
What’s a song I need to hear right now?
“Take Me Naked.” All shivers.
Where can I see her play?
At Harbourfront Centre’s Stage in the Round on Saturday, July 2 at 7 p.m. as part of the weekend’s Oh Canada! festivities.