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MP3 Charmless - Just because
10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, POP: Power Pop
Details:
Equal and opposite: that’s a fitting description of Oakland’s Charmless. Singer/guitarist Peter Harb can often be found with an acoustic guitar and harmonica at local open mic nights; guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Hainline constantly rewires his effects pedals in an attempt to obtain the most dissonant guitar tone possible; bassist Justin Bolker believes that there’s no songwriter’s block that can’t be cured with more volume and a plagiarized Cheap Trick riff; drummer Jim Bove has a Bachelor’s in classical composition and did jazz session work in New York City after college. Any doubts about this unlikely partnership are erased, however, with one listen to the band’s debut album, Just Because ...quot; ten tracks inspired by Charmless’ diverse influences but grounded firmly in their common favorites (Superchunk, Husker Du, and Tom Petty, to name just a few).
Formed in the summer of 2001, Charmless soon established a reputation as one of the Bay Area’s best ...quot; and most energetic ...quot; live bands. Local media took early notice, with the East Bay Express describing their sound as “a sonic assault that''s sweetened considerably by pop melodies, like a candy-coated hook on top of a wall of distortion” and Bay Area Buzz deeming them a “Band to Watch.” Such attention, along with airplay on college radio (KALX, KFJC, and KZSU), brought them to the attention of Isota Records, who put Charmless in the studio with Grammy-nominated producer Jeff Saltzman (The Killers’ Hot Fuss) to record the “Action”/”Hot Flower” seven-inch. The single sold out of its first pressing and earned the band rave reviews in media such as Splendid (“post-punk guitar rock greatness”), Losing Today (“spills forth like a charging army, making the whole thing something akin to a melodic minefield, the sound of youthful angst bottled in it’s purest form”), and West Coast Performer (“all that its bio purports; stadium rock with stadium chops”). Teaming up again with Saltzman, Charmless gathered more praise for the “Tule Fog” split-single on Oakland’s Food Stamp Records, with Mesh saying “melodic, mellow and blue, it’s what makes this record worth having.”
With several labels making offers, the group broke with traditional wisdom and decided to self-finance and produce Just Because. Using student loans to fund the recording, Charmless treated the album as their opportunity to fully realize their collective and individual visions. From the driving power pop of “Last Call” (the first single) to the feedback loops and tape-reversed ending of album closer “Starting Over,” Just Because forgoes the hit-making ‘flavor of the week’ mentality in favor of energetic performances and timeless rock n’ roll melodies. The album was quickly picked up by Texas-based Itchy Korean Recordings.
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