Charlie Castell—Beautiful Apocalypse

It's unavoidable sometimes that artists are often compared to others, and it can be a double-edged sword. Hopefully Charlie takes it as a compliment, but when I listened to the first two tracks, Robbie Williams came to mind and his album Life Thru a Lens.

The first two tracks Bad Religion and Oh Oh NRA could so easily have come from that same album, in sound at least, but not sure Robbie would be singing too much about the NRA. That's one of the things about this album, it most definitely has political overtones. Now, I'm pretty much apolitical, but I can understand that for many, a metaphorical sword of Damocles hangs above, dangerous, threatening.

The sound vibe of the album continues with Putting the World Back Together, but then takes a slower, more reflective downturn with My America, and it's that more political, or is it patriotic vibe starts to emanate. Give Them Hell turns the notch of darkness up a bit with its marching beat and almost bitter, vitriolic verses, but uplifted with the chorus. And then it's back to a relaxed, and contemplative Love is All, with its soft vocals and sweeping strings.

Then comes the track Interlude. When I played this album on YouTube Music, while writing the review, this track unlike the rest of the album had 0 plays, which I find strange as I'd listened to the whole album in the car yesterday, but maybe I can understand the more limited plays as this is very much a political message regarding the voting system in the US. Very strange. I can hear you thinking, and that's before you've heard it. It's a tad over 2 minutes, and musically it is an interlude in the usual sense, but underpinned with a powerful and informative punch. I certainly learnt something.

Like myself, Charlie originally hails from the UK. Where I settle in Canada, he settled in the US, which gives further context and maybe understanding to many of the songs.

The Division of Industrial Complex starts what is essentially the second half of the album, and it's a much darker, harder sound, which is then balanced by the softer We Are One, again underpinned with a wonderful string section.

Where Were the Grown Ups is another of the softer, more laid back tracks, but with a different, and if I were to guess much younger and great sounding lead vocalist, Natalia Duarte-Eremia.

The softer vibe continues and rounds off the album with are Sign Me to Remind Me, Beautiful Apocalypse with its Greta Thunberg introduction and Silent Screen, another great track to round the album with.

This album feels very personal and for me one that should be listened to as a complete work. It most definitely has political overtones, but very much bookmarks the world as it is today, so will always take me back to this time and not surprisingly this place, when I listen to it in the future. And I will listen again, as this is a very well put together album, which I can thoroughly recommend.