Charly Bliss' Youthful Sonics Is "Young Enough" For The Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion

CLICK HERE To Go Back To Blurred Culture’s SXSW Artist Page For March 16th, 2019

AUSTIN, TX- The Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion is a 3 day event held at SXSW and it returned to The Historic Scoot Inn. Presented by Harley Davidson, in association with Relix, Consequence of Sound, Brooklyn Vegan and Shout It Out Loud, acts like Broken Social Scene, White Denim and Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers graced the “historic” stage during throughout each day. Blurred Culture was able to attend most of the the final evening session which was curated by Brooklyn Vegan and Shout It Out Loud Music. One of the acts on the acts featured on the evening’s lineup was the NYC based, pop-rock band Charly Bliss.

Earlier this month, Charly Bliss released their sophomore album Young Enough. It’s a sharply produced album that’s generally brighter (less grungy) than their solid debut effort Guppy. Then again, with a front-woman like Evan Hendricks and her distinctly bubbly vox, you’d be generally hard pressed not to feel a bit of vocals sunshine tinkle in your earholes, even if she is singing about some pretty heavy topics. I mean, “Chatroom” is, with its bright major chords and catchy hook, a song about- at its essence- an abusive relationship.

I was a Charly Bliss virgin when I saw them perform at SXSW with little to no knowledge of their repertoire, but part of my interest in catching them live was based on the glowing recommendations from others who had caught them on stage before. Watching their performance at The Brooklyn Family Reunion, I really paid attention to how their sound and performance was making me feel.

Dressed in a sparkly, ruffled outfit, Eva’s presence on stage was as bright as the stage lights that reflected off her ensemble. She was particularly fun to watch when she was shredding away on her guitar while hopping around the stage. She was even more engaging when she wasn’t tied to an instrument and was able to explore the stage and interact with her bandmates. Her playful stage romps with Dan Shure (bass) were quite enjoyable.

I felt like there is a real theatrical side to Eva’s persona- which I could see in her facial expressions. That theatricality, coupled with the cheery vibes inherent to band’s songs, really has you wanting to bounce around the crowd like Eva does on stage. And that, in my humble opinion, is the real draw for Charly Bliss. They write and record music that’s pretty deep, but they perform it with a lightness and energy that matches the music’s youthful sonics. A band whose music you can sit and contemplate or mindlessly bounce around to. A pretty dope double edged sword.

Follow Charly Bliss on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

CLICK HERE To Go Back To Blurred Culture’s SXSW Artist Page For March 16th, 2019

*********************