Charlotte, Light and Dark
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My previous post was all about the stunning moment when you encounter music that makes your ears prick up, and your brain flip, and your body shudder with excitement.That’s what discovering English singer-songwriter-guitarist Charlotte Hatherley was like for me.I have to say that my zeal about Hatherley (an ex-member of the punky, poppy Northern Ireland rock band Ash) has not diminished in the month or so that I’ve been listening to her two exquisite, seductive, hook-laden solo albums. Yes, I know. The second one, The Deep Blue, won’t be released until March 5, but – ah - I have my ways. And each listen reveals new layers to her performances, complex and untrammeled, and new delights in the material and arrangements.Here’s me, waxing ecstatic in a previous MOG posting: “She got me with those tough/tender vocals navigating lyrics that are either clever, impressionistic, wistful or all three; with intricate, memorable tunes hiding unexpected melodic twists and turns that sound so right, and stick with you; with sinewy guitar work that just about grabs you by the ears and forces you to listen.â€Digging around for info about Charlotte, I learned that she’s a fan of the Pixies and XTC. In fact, XTC’s driving wheel Andy Partridge helped her write the gilded, gliding ballad “Dawn Treader†on The Deep Blue, so apparently, the feeling is mutual. You can hear a bit of XTC’s arty, baroque side and the Pixies’ jagged, volatility in her music. There’s also a Suzi Quatro glam-rock swagger, a Go-Go’s/Bangles girl-group sheen, and a touch of psychedelia to the Hatherley sound. But, for all of her influences, the end result is something unique.There’s the spectral instrumental “Cousteau†that opens The Deep Blue; and the kick-ass, dryly witty, blow-the-roof-off rocker “I Want You to Know.†The liquid near-dissonance of the opening guitar riff to “Behave,†followed by broken-hearted lyrics in the grand rock ‘n’ roll tradition (“Baby, I want ya / Nobody knows just how it feelsâ€); lurching, shifting time signatures; and an ascendant chorus that proclaims the singer’s desire and need to “Behave, behave.†The careening guitar-and-drum thunder of “Very Young,†calling up the heyday of U.K. art-punk outfits Wire and Shriekback.You get twelve songs in all, each with something tasty to offer. If you think you might like it, seek it out.And while you have a minute or two, check out Charlotte Hatherley’s knockout vid for “I Want You to Knowâ€:
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