Stranded in Australia during the COVID pandemic. Stranded in the US after a coup in Niger. This week’s theme is dislocation, with the power pop of Charly Bliss and the guitar rock of Mdou Moctar both affected.
Charly Bliss
Forever
2024, 8.5/10
2020 was a disruptive year for a lot of bands. Charly Bliss, who recently released their first album in five years, were affected more than most. Drummer Sam Hendricks welcomed his first child in early 2020. His sister, lead singer Eva Hendricks, was stranded in Australia during the pandemic and is now engaged and living in Brisbane.
All three of Charly Bliss’s records are impressive. Their debut is still my favourite but Forever is thoroughly enjoyable. The band’s music has become more synthetic, but it does a great job balancing synth-pop gloss and power pop muscle.
Hendricks is still a major asset, with her distinctive helium-tinger voice and her self-deprecating lyrics.
My boyfriend’s dad is over seventy-five
His lifе’s more fun and more fulfilling than mine
If I’m a rock star, I’m not doing it right
Tappеd out at twenty-nine
The centrepiece of Forever is ‘Nineteen’. A bittersweet ballad, it’s a weird choice for the first single on an otherwise energetic album, but it’s the best song here. ‘In Your Bed’ is warm and jangly. The album’s strength is the wealth of quality, energetic pop-rockers like ‘Calling You Out’, ‘How Do You Do It’, and ‘Last First Kiss’.
Charly Bliss have made three great albums in a row, no small feat in power pop, typically a genre where acts have a short shelf-life.
Mdou Moctar
Funeral for Justice
2024, 7.5/10
The sub-Saharan Hendrix is back with a new album of guitar heroics and politically charged songs. It’s been a tough time for Niger. In July 2023, their democratically elected government was overthrown in a coup. While the French withdrew from the country, the area is beset by terrorist violence. Moctar’s band, then touring the States, had to raise money on GoFundMe to stay longer and couldn’t return to their families until things settled down.
Moctar’s a terrific talent, but it feels like he’s made the same album three times in a row with diminishing returns. Funeral for Justice starts strongly – the title track features lightning guitar runs. ‘Imouhar’ marries a strong groove to heavy guitar, a direction Moctar should explore more. His music is heavier and more visceral than before, but it still feels like a retread.
I help a lot, with the music money,” he said. “I don’t drink, I don’t do bad stuff.” Back in Niger, he has bought rice and meat for entire villages, including the one in which he grew up in and still lives. He has built mosque and schools. The music is, in some ways, a vessel through which he can provide for others, to the point where he seems to sometimes view the music itself as a mission.
The New Yorker
I’d be more impressed if Funeral for Justice was the first Moctar album I’d heard, but it feels like he needs to grow his sound.
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Charlie Bliss undoubtedly have catchy melodies. Based on sampling the songs you called out in your post and comparing to a handful of tracks from their 2017 debut album “Guppy,” I prefer their earlier more guitar rock-oriented over the synth-dominated sound on their latest album. As such, you probably also won’t be surprised that overall sub-Saharan Hendrix Mdou Moctar is more up my alley.
I’m kind of surprised Mdou Moctar hasn’t caught on more in our blogosphere – he’s bluesy and raw, and interesting. And can really shred.
You’re right. He definitely sounds great. I’m going to write down his name. Coz knowing me, sadly, I otherwise might forget him again!