a hasty ranking of the songs on Charly Bliss' Forever.
Based on how much I like them and whether or not I think they related to me personally.
I’ve been listening to Charly Bliss’ new album a lot lately. No long intro, just a ranking of where I currently stand on each of the songs in their latest album, Forever.
1. Tragic
Tragic is the first song on the album for a reason. It really sets the tone for the entire album and has a really great transition into the next song, Calling You Out.
My favorite lyrics:
I like playing the game
You could ruin my life
Why I think it’s related to my life:
I love people like this too.
2. Back There Now
I couldn’t decide if Tragic or Back There Now should be number one because I like them both so much but in different ways. I’m not good at understanding what musicians are doing because I have like zero music theory or knowledge, but what I love about Back There Now is that it has this like throwback pop-grunge aesthetic that just works.
My favorite lyrics:
Sometimes I miss you, but I already know
A boy like you would hang me if I gave you the rope
Why I think it’s about me:
I have crushed on SO many men that would hang me if I gave them the rope.
3. In Your Bed
I think many people like Charly Bliss for their poppy and vibey music, but I love when they do a slower burn song. In an album that’s all about different forms of love and joy (platonic, romantic, sexual) this one feels like a good almost lament on the end of something that felt good at first.
My favorite lyrics:
Innocent until he cheats
I know her boyfriend, I know what it means
I just think this is such a brutal way to describe someone. It’s not like directly saying this person sucks but has enough teeth to sound like a good “fuck off”
4. Nineteen
One of the things I’m always interested in when listening to an artist’s discography is the repeated phrases and connections they make. Nineteen feels like a follow-up song to their second album (and title song), Young Enough.
In Nineteen the lyric is:
Sidеwalks in the summer heat
Don't makе a big thing about it
Forever comes fast and heavy
Which mirrors the lyric in Young Enough
And when the sidewalk ripped up our frozen feet
I can't protect you now if I couldn't save you then
You were still just a kid
I think it’s impossible to not conclude that these songs are in dialogue with each other. The transition from winter sidewalks which are active and filled with purpose (ripping up feet) to the summer sidewalks which are ultimately unremarkable (don’t make a big thing about it) seem to be processing the transition of some relationship or personal journey.
Add that to this being the song in which the album title appears, I don’t know, it makes me feel like it’s pretty crucial to understanding what this album is all about.
5. Last First Kiss
I’ll admit that half of why this is so high on the list for me is that I literally heard it during an early listening session that was on my 4 year anniversary. The other half is for the below lyric, which I think is just such a perfect way of describing clouded thoughts.
My favorite lyrics:
He carbonated my
thoughts
My vision's blurry
and god
I wanna see him
close-up
I think that one thing Eva Hendricks has going for her is the imperfect way she describes mundane things. Carbonated thoughts fit so closely and personally while giving you the exact mental image of what type of head-noise she’s singing about.
6. I Don’t Know Anything
One of the threads that’s present throughout this album is Hendricks’ thoughts on navigating her career as she, and the rest of her bandmates, get older. I don’t know what it’s like to be a musician and try to find fame for your music, but it’s refreshing to see someone’s take on the seemingly nebulous path bands take.
My favorite lyrics:
My face and my hair and my voice is all wrong
If I was smart, we'd be further along
Keep my head down and have faith in the songs
I lied, yeah, my fear of rejection is strong
Why I think it relates to me:
I’ve been trying really hard to not feel like a failed writer lately. I’ve been doing a lot of specific writing work that hasn’t necessarily gone anywhere so this feels connected. It’s hard to label yourself as some form of artist or creative, to have this strong pull to do this one specific type of art and still feel like you’re fucking it up, even when you’re (in Charly Bliss’ case) objectively good!
In therapy, I’ve started to explore different parts of myself and it’s helped me understand that one of the most constant companions I’ve had in my life is my writing. So as cheesy as the lyric “keep my head down and have faith in the songs” can sound, yeah, I feel that right now.
7. Calling you out
In their review of Forever, Marissa Lorusso writes about “Hendricks’ self-examination” and “self-incriminating songs about delusional crushes and picking senseless fights with your lover.”
I don’t have anything better to say about it, I just think that captures a lot of my love for Charly Bliss as a band.
My favorite lyrics:
I know it’s never what I think
Good guy he takes good care of me
But I’ll die by insecurity
Why it relates to me:
I am also jealous and insecure and often insane.
8. Waiting for You
Waiting for You should probably be higher thematically, but I said this was hasty so idc. This song very much reads like a love letter to the entire Charly Bliss band and it’s nice to have a song that touches on that type of platonic love.
My favorite lyrics:
In thе van that night
Under nowhere sky
It was perfect,
I was always
waiting for you
Why it relates to me:
It doesn’t. I would never be in a van.
9. Easy to Love
I just really like it when she sings a sad or loving slow song. I can’t help it.
My favorite lyrics:
I'm coming alive in a cheap old bed
And your feet hang over the edge
If I'd settled for less when I craved reassuring
Made the world so small, nobody could hurt mе
10. How Do You Do It
I think there’s a lot musically going on here. I might adjust where I place this after a few more listens, but for now it’s a great song but just not my favorite.
My favorite lyrics:
You think I messed with your life
I just stayed too long
Couldn't commit and I can't move on
Why I think it relates to me:
I am frequently unable to move on or unable to commit.
11. I’m Not Dead
I’ll admit it seems weird to place I’m Not Dead near the end of a ranking, because ultimately I think it’s thematically important to the album as a whole. But, this is a personal ranking and it’s just not my favorite song.
My favorite lyrics:
My boyfriend's dad is over seventy-five
His lifе's more fun and more fulfilling than mine
Because it reminds me of the Gatorade lyric:
My hair is fake, my teeth are soft
Now, I'm awake and you are not
My boyfriend's mom is very smart
12. Here Comes the Darkness
There’s a lot that’s good in Here Comes the Darkness, but it’s just not my favorite song on the album. What I love about this song though is how Hendricks is able to sing about the sort of dark thoughts we all have as they relate to our relationships or our own personal struggles. I think she writes and sings about the darker emotions that come packaged with joyful emotions really well.
My favorite lyrics:
Used to think every dream
I had about you was a sign
Every wave that crashed down
on me was the fight of my life
I close my eyes
I'd still beg for you
from every faceless dive
Why it relates to me:
I’ll be honest, I think every dream is a sign. I think they have meaning. But I’ve had to convince myself that they don’t mean anything, they’re just your brain being weird.