Charley and Jesi – With Love
Charley and Jesi – With Love
URL: https://www.charleyandjesi.com/
(Los Angeles, CA) Charley and Jesi are no strangers to a musical movement, and Love. Their latest release is entitled “With Love” was released in 2014. Charley and Jesi isn’t about pushing boundaries, redefining the industry, or reshaping your perception of music. I feel they write music from the heart and only wish to share it with as many people as we can, all the while having a blast doing it. They probably let the chips fall where they may? This is how bands change the world with music. On With Love, the duo’s sound is a seductive amalgam of The White Stripes-meets-The Carpenters.That unique musicality courses through the upbeat swagger of the first single “Just Wanna Dance,” punctuated by a bombastic saxophone solo and massive harmonies. Meanwhile the opening track, “Hurry Up and Take Your Time” combines a blues bounce with simmering solos from Echols. “Better Day” is a bright, harmonious, upbeat anthem and “Love In” boasts a countrified rhythm and a mini-choir of Charley & Jesi’s musician friends. The album culminates with “Love Light,” a song that shines with a gorgeous dénouement and impeccable playing courtesy of Anderson.
This latest 10 song offering “With Love” is outfitted with a distinctly familiar 70’s-90’s style rock feel with a Bluesy edge that takes no prisoners. Charley and Jesi’s sound personality just gives the music credible bulk and authenticity. Make no mistake – these 2 are in love, and are quite talented. There’s a cult fanbase out here in love with Charley and Jesi 3 as they are clearly surging along the West coast. Some songs like “Hurry up & Take Your Time” waste no time getting off the ground while other gems “Better Baby” and “Better Day” take their time to build but when they peaks provide immediate transport to musical glory days past. Where good bands like Live, Everclear, Stroke 9, The Pixies, Zac Brown Band and Sister Hazel flooded the airwaves. “No Reply” is a cool play on words which opens with a cool vocals from Charley which transforms into something melodic and delicious. This piece follows a bit of a storyline and is very clever and entertaining. Towing the line a bit with other movements like trippy and spacey ”Lunar Dream” with hooks in all the right places and could easily stand shoulder to shoulder with all the aforementioned bands. Jesi can sing and has a voice like honey. Both harmonize extremely well together. But it’s on the last two songs, “Love –In” and “Love Light” that really shine as the album closes. Coming full circle with influence from the past and modern day musical mentality, these songs inspire with eyes squeezed tightly shut drifting off powerful feelings brought about by the likes of amazing music of the 90.s God I wish those days were back. Much of this CD is more like in a thrumming of the heart, as a perfectly wrought rock song should be able to do.
It also obvious that Charley and Jesi have not taken their experience in the music business lightly, nor is this latest effort a fake-handed grasp at recapturing glory days. For those in the immediate area who are able to catch these two live this is a great way to hear some home-bred music by some talented people, and for those in any other city this is a great band to try to model after. If you want to start a band and you happen to be a couple as well – go this direction. In a world where corporate is king and cheesy music gets product top dollar product it’s nice to see a real good band play over my speakers for a change. With a well-trained ear for what brought them to my ears in the first place “With Love” has managed to give us 10 exhilarating tracks to chew on and offered the world a cutting edge glimpse of this amazing style of music that inspires the soul – just live Love itself.
We can only hope that there is much more where this came from.
10/10 Stars
MTV Hyperlink: https://www.mtv.com/artists/charley-jesi/
Beth Hagen (Queens, New York). Approved by Cyrus Rhodes