If It's Too Loud...

Photo courtesy Charming Arson There's something especially 90's about the latest from Charming Arson, although I can't figure out what. "The Wednesday of my discontent" is a disjointed example of psychedelic power pop that's more in the style of the 90's than the 70's... although that guitar solo is screaming 70's. It's a delightfully fuzzy and rough around the edges version of the genre, sounding like a mixture of Guided By Voices meets Cheap Trick. There's also a sharp edge to the song, as playful as it is. It's also the kind of song that's has so many catchy moments you might end up with multiple sections stuck in your head at various times. Charming Arson have a fun one here, and will leave listeners quite content. (We apologize for that one.) David Cameron (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) says of his band's new single: “When I first came up with the chorus, I automatically started singing ‘this is the winter of my discontent’ a...

Photo courtesy Charming Arson Boston has one of the best power pop scenes in the world, and our newest favorite is Charming Arson. While most Boston power pop tends to be a hybrid with garage rock, "Saving Chelsea" mixes in more of an alt-rock sound. This is actually reminding me a lot of the mid-90's Boston rock scene, right after Letters to Cleo and Juliana Hatfield broke and it was being called the next Seattle. It has that kind of sound mixed with the giant guitar heroics of Cheap Trick. At times it even throws further back to the 60's with some Archies style melodies. Charming Arson are borrowing from some of the best periods of power pop, and we could not be more here for it. Vocalist/guitarist David Cameron says of the band's new single: “Lyrically, the song aims to capture the inherent absurdity of trying to save someone who romanticizes their own decline. Personally, I've always wanted to do something that harkens back to Bob Mould from his Sugar days...

Friday saw the release of TELL's new album, Life in Reverse. It also saw the band play a killer quadruple bill of local bands that included D-Tension and the Secrets, The Daylilies, and Charming Arson. It was one of those nights that was jam packed with shows, but after going to this one I had zero FOMO. Charming Arson were the only band I was completely unfamiliar with going into Friday night's show. To me they seemed like a band that formed in college back in the 90's and played the on campus pub a bunch as well as every house party. And one that never broke up and played when the members could all make it work out. That isn't meant as a dig, because the result was pretty great. They're a solid alt-rock band that were having a bunch of fun on stage and might have had the most dedicated fans of the night. TELL played next, and as much as I like Life in Reverse , I absolutely loved their live show. Live they had an unexpected ferocity, and the new songs have a compl...