Charly Bliss – Supermoon Review

By Griff Stevens

Charly Bliss is a hard-working American four-piece pop/rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band is singer and guitarist Eva Hendricks, Spencer Fox on guitar, Sam Hendricks on drums, and Dan Shure on bass. Spinning out sounds influenced by the alt-rock bands of the ’90s, Charly Bliss has a perfect balance grungy rock and poppy hooks. Charly Bliss self-released their first EP, A Lot to Say, in 2013 and Soft Serve followed in 2014 (Father/Daughter Records). Based in New York City, the quartet’s reputation as a live act gained momentum. The band soon was opening shows for Veruca Salt, Sleater-Kinney, Tokyo Police Club, and Glass Animals, among others.

Their full-length debut, Guppy, in 2017 on Barsuk Records, put the band on the radar. The pop-leaning Young Enough followed in 2019. Young Enough replaces the power pop of the band’s other releases with songs that lean toward bubblegum synth-rock. Charly Bliss is ending 2019 with a new EP titled, Supermoon. The EP presents five songs recorded at the same time as their sophomore album Young Enough. Joe Chiccarelli is the producer with Carlos de la Garza mixing and Emily Lazar mastering.

“Feed” brings the EP to life with Eva’s instantly identifiable voice flowing over a pop/rock beat. The band is focused, and the melody is memorable with a harmonic progression that is strong. The songs on Supermoon Eva added, “fill in the cracks and enhance the narrative of Young Enough and show you how we got where we were going.” Eva’s voice is flowing in the chorus; her head voice is pleasant as the band supports her with background harmonies. The songwriting is maturing, and the sound quality is polished. A lovely opener that makes you want to continue into the EP.

If you have been put off by the bubblegum factor, then “Slingshot” is the perfect pallet cleanser. Here the band returns to their roots with a more aggressive sound. The melody’s intervalic jumps grab your attention while Eva’s personality is shining through. The background vocals make a counter line to the central theme in the chorus that is catchy. The guitar playing is driving and puts the sound into a more aggressive texture. However, the songwriting is growing from their past work. Also, of note is Eva’s fun, perky vocals still sell the song with a smile.

Charly Bliss is taking the sounds that inspired Guppy and developing them. Is there a little more fluff here and there? Yes, and no. The production and recording is full and gives a more polished or pop esthetic. However, the core energy of Charly Bliss is still very much intact. Supermoon should keep long-time fans happy and new fans of the Young Enough album can hear how the band evolved to their later, more popish leanings.