B1 – Just A Little
Charlie Reed is a brand new project from Luke Trimble, the lead songwriter, singer, and guitarist of the Uh Bones, easily one of the best bands to hit the Chicago rock n roll scene in recent memory. As Uh Bones was ending, Luke turned to his bedroom to experiment with a newly acquired reel-to-reel 8-track recorder, soon finding himself obsessed, using of his free time to write and record new songs as they came to him. As he did in Uh Bones, Luke continues to show his prowess at songwriting in Charlie Reed, writing songs that are interesting and different, with strange chord changes and song structures, but always catchy and memorable. But the bedroom has changed Luke’s approach – he has turned down his amps, brought in a nylon-stringed acoustic, and slowed down the tempo. And so, whereas Uh Bones was a psych rock band, Charlie Reed is arguably more psych folk, but without any reverb, and without any of the hippy-dippy bullshit associated with the genre. Still, the songs have the feel of a vaguely lysergic waking dream, in and out of which the listener slowly floats, just as the faded remnants of the recordings left on the ¼” tape over which Luke recorded his songs fade in and out of at the beginning and end of each song. And while the songs give an impression of loneliness, it is mostly without sadness, a languid acceptance of longing as an inevitable that gives the songs a somber beauty that is all their own. Since finishing these recording, Luke has recruited a band to move these songs out of the bedroom and into the public eye, but until they come to your town, take home this 7” and experience it for yourself. And keep your eyes and ears open for more great music coming down the pipeline from Charlie Reed!