Album Review: Charly Bliss See If They Are Young Enough

Most of us ask, “Are we old enough?” As if the older our age, the more validity we gain for big, life decisions. Yet, for Charly Bliss, Young Enough asks, “Are we young enough?” The problem with “age” is that it is always measured as too young or too old, which can negatively transfer to too immature or too tired. For Eva Hendricks, love’s capacity to harden her heart makes her wonder if she is “fresh”/ young enough to love again. 

Nothing like a “good” break-up to make you feel like a walking rendition of 100 Years of Solitude.  From “Hurt Me” to “Blown To Bits,” Charly Bliss churn pop-punk ballads for those that feel eviscerated by an ex. We all, at least once, have suffered a break-up that seemingly tore us in half; making us a cross between who we were before “that person” and who we were after. With Hendricks’ voice feeling like a high-pitched pop of pain, angst, and splashes of hope, you cannot help but recall the one you most want to forget: your ex. 

Sonically, Charly Bliss feel like bonfires of romantic tragedies; they combust, burn, and lighten their guitars with the darkness of love. “I don’t know why it’s easiest for me to frame the darkest lyrics in the context of upbeat songs,” says Charly Bliss’ Eva Hendricks. “It’s completely instinctual and not something I ever plan out. It sort of mirrors how I am, and maybe it’s a way of protecting myself. In my opinion, the two best emotional releases are crying and dancing, so it makes sense to me to marry the two.” Frankly, that is the most pop-punk thing I have ever heard.

If there is one thing that pop and punk share, it is their ability to embrace sadness while, simultaneously, denying it. For these genres, you mosh and dance away the pain as a form of acknowledging it. Thus, every drum bash and screeched yelp comes off like the pangs of a breaking heart trying to decide if shattering is a form of movement. To Buy Charly Bliss’ Young Enough on May 10 Click Here.