Charalambides – “Proper”

There are no real applicable labels for the medium in which Charalambides operate in. Like fellow Northeast luminaries Tower Recordings they’re rooted in psych and folk if you want to simplify, but you probably shouldn’t. They’re rooted in traditions of experimental songform and quite often delving into drone, but they typically tap into something ‘other’ and intangible. There’s a primal nature to their music that’s always felt like rites, spirituals without the burden of carved beliefs. This side of their songwriting is on full display on “Proper,” the latest peek into their upcoming eponymous LP. Over spectral tones the band’s Christina Carter intones high and holy, vibrating on a sympathetic tone with heavy metals in the surrounding soil. She cries for the Earth’s scars as if she can feel its pain.

The band’s Tom Carter expands on their process, confessing that the band “considers songs not as layers, but as stark utterances of elemental figures, the voids those figures define, and the unnamable emotions with which our minds fill the emptiness. Notes emphasize the silences between, loops pry apart tonal intervals, ghost-filled spaces open and slowly freeze shut as they fade to distant crackles. ‘Proper’ embodies all of these elements.” The new album is such a heavy, meditative piece that its hard to pry it apart into pieces, but “Proper” is a good entry point for the cosmic traveler. For the true Charalambides experience, the band is also taking this record on the road. Prepare to be ground into dust listeners East Coasters / Midwest settlers.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.

Tour Dates:
10.05.18 – Louisville, KY @ Cropped Out at American Turners Club Rd.
10.07.18 – New York, NY @ Artist Space
10.08.18 – Washington, DC @ Rhizome
10.09.18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Vox Populit
10.10.18 – Greenfield, MA @ Root Cellar
10.11.18 – Montréal, QC @ Vitrola
10.12.18 – Toronto, ON @ Array Space
10.13.18 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s
10.14.18 – Toledo, OH 2 Robinwood Concert House
10.15.18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Boone & Crockett
10.16.18 – Madison, WI @ Arts and Literature Lab
10.18.18 – Iowa City, IA @ Trumpet Blossom Cafe
10.19.18 – St Louis, MO @ Schlafly Tap Room

11.09.18 – London, UK @ Café OTO
11.24.18 – Brighton, UK @ The Rose Hill