Charts

omething like Franz Ferdinand transposed to the West Coast. (MS), Willamette Week

" #4 Taking a listen to 2013’s EP Vacation, which contains one of the catchiest songs to come out of Portland in recent memory, “Settling Down,” one would think that 2014 would be the year that Charts broke out in a bigger way. Or at least that is what I was thinking when I saw them open for Fat White Family and Jeffrey Lewis on Halloween at Bunk Bar. For all the impact that the internet and on demand music is having on consumerism, it seems like bands still need that one last piece of the puzzle, the album, as a foothold. Early 2015 brings touring and their first full length, so Charts should be well on their way. Here’s hoping that they stuck with Jeff Bond, who produced one of my favorite albums of this year (Aan’s Amor Ad Nauseum) as well as Vacation." - Aaron Sharpsteen, SSG music, Five Portland Bands to Watch in 2015. Everything about the collection screams optimism. Garage rock has never sounded so good. Loud is the default volume. Vacation needs to be played loud. With volume it gains that additional warm impact. Simplicity comes rocking right in with the bare minimum: guitar, bass, drums, sun-drenched vocals. By using this incredibly stripped down approach the four songs appear to be celebratory.

‘Settling Down’ introduces their format to a tee: the song might as well be playing outside right next to the beach. Part of this is the recording technique used: recorded live. Hence the sound is incredibly earnest. With ‘Settling Down’ the pieces fall into the right places, fragments of summery soloing, a general sense of freedom. ‘Burn Out’ continues this method taking on further heat, slowing things down, and simply getting stuck in the mind. On ‘I Don’t Mind’ Charts unwinds and allows for a nice mellow groove to form, one of those sorts of grooves that conveys more emotionally than otherwise. ‘Get On The Bus’ ends off the collection with a surprisingly large amount of energy. Here the entire band appears to be literally driving towards the finale. Vacation is a perfect collection of pop songs that wears its garage rock on its sleeve. With a sound comparable to Harlem or whirlpool bath Boys, it is a band perfectly made for hot weather. Although the heat of the summer is far off this is a pleasant reminder of how much fun it can be." Beach Sloth Music Blog

"Sweet and catchy incorporating skillfully influence of oldies best garage pop sound!! of PHIL SPECTOR.." -Hyper Enough Records (Japan)

"Pulling heavy from Lou Reed and The Kinks, Charts write moving pop songs with plenty of breathing room." -Into the Woods

"No frills or fancy necessary, just straight-up real band songs. I could use a bunch of huge words to pigeonhole them, but they're better than that 'cause "Let's make some good songs" rather than "We're the new-new that'll crumble to the next new." -Bim Ditson, Willamette Weekly

"Charts is a band who ascends an enormous pile of post punk, new wave, and garage rock revival. These guys pretty much don’t give a s**t. But when you listen to their new Vacation EP, you can’t help but wonder if they’re actually criminal masterminds plotting to take over Portland with their contagious party rock. They’ve moved towards higher quality production techniques, and can we just say it sounds so good. There are a lot of elements working together to make Charts the delicious new wave candy with a creamy doo-wop center it is. The album kicks off with the energetic reverb’d vocals and guitars of “Settling Down,” a distant tribute to the aesthetics of great 80’s bands like New Order. But then the listener is warped back another 20 years in history for the next two tracks “Burn Out,” and “I Don’t Mind.” This diptych draws on the slowly walking bass-lines of early 1960’s pop, Phil Spector, and doo-wop for a subdued, dreamy sound. It’s reminiscent of an episode of American Band Stand where the audience dances and sways as the music dissolves their anxieties completely. Instead of singing about holding someone’s hand or being anybody’s baby, Charts uses more current themes like being close to a hopeless stoner or maintaining indifference in the face of (passive) aggression. Also working to update the vintage sound are fuzzy guitar and vocal effects, which point towards Chart’s lo-fi history while giving us a glimpse of what their music sounds like if it were produced by one of the nation’s best producers. The album comes full circle with “Get On The Bus,” a great surf-y, garage-y track like the first, the perfect closer as it ends with the imagery of leaving town on a beach-bound booze-cruisin party bus with Charts." -Killing Sasquatch

"Charts' new EP, Vacation, polishes the Portland trio's lo-fi murk to a surprisingly sunny new sheen. Recorded live at Troubadour Studios and mixed by Jeff Bond, the four catchy, rock-solid new tracks find the band discarding their homegrown tape-hiss vibe in favor of a reverb-laden, tropical-tinged version of chiming power-pop. It's a great sounding record, from the gallop of opening track "Settling Down" to the wanderlusting "Get on the Bus," finding room for the '50s sock-hop of "Burn Out" and the slow-dance of "I Don't Mind" along the way." NED LANNAMANN, Portland Mercury

"We should all be grateful for Charts' prolific streak (god knows I am). They've just released yet another EP, Tease, which is every bit as good, if not better, than the band's previous output. Even if principal songwriter Michael Rowan's songs are still rooted in that inescapable Flying Nun influence, his "voice" (as in both his singing voice and distinctive identity as an artist) have improved measurably in the mere 11 months since the band cut their first album. It can only get better from here, and Charts are already so, so close to the pinnacle of indie-pop bliss." -MORGAN TROPER, Portland Mercury

"This is moreso a garage rock revival sound than most of the current movement, and is refreshing because of this. Six slices of 60s inflected chugging rock n roll - its a hell of a lot of fun, I highly recommend it"! -Sonic Masala

"Charts give it away for free, and you'd be a fool not to take them up on it. Their Birds and Bees EP, a six-song hit parade of j***y pop 'n' roll, is available on their Bandcamp page for the totally achievable cost of nothing. As soon as you download it—which you are doing right now, yes?—you'll discover that its songs are brash and exuberant basement jams, with twinges of Kinksy British Invasion and choruses that you'll memorize upon first listen." -NED LANNAMANN, Portland Mercury

"Charts are the most unassuming pop/rock band in Portland. There, I said it. They manage to supernaturally channel a variety of British Invasion forebears without sounding (or appearing) oppressively retro. They're lush without employing any orchestral ruses. So how do these guys pull off the preposterous? It's all about the songs, which the members of Charts are particularly adroit at crafting. Catchy-as-all-heck standout "Sad Thing" off their debut EP, Birds and Bees, is one of the most elegant pop songs I've heard in a hot minute, and it begs comparison with the Troggs or even "Do Wah Diddy Diddy"-era Manfred Mann. And fitting closer "End of Time" would be the perfect soundtrack to a wholesome last dance if it weren't for that raucous last minute. Surely nobody could have gotten away with that in the early '60s."-MORGAN TROPER, Portland Mercury

"Aside from their tall tales and bombast they bring the noise in a Kinks meets Pixies sort of way. In fact, they might be the Northwestern equivalent of Atlanta’sGentleman Jesse and His Men. It’s quite possible that IYS is the first music blog to give these guys some press, which isn’t all too shocking, considering the preponderance of dubstep and house percolating through the blogosphere. They are out-and-out rockers, as demonstrated via their August EP, Birds and Bees. The first two tracks might as well be combined into one, but that would defy the get in and out quick mantra of any true garage rock trio. Most of the tracks are driven by British invasion guitar and locomotive drums. Fortunately, they close it out with the plaintive and romantic “End of Time”, which slows the tempo down considerably, via a grungy bass line and punch drunk soliloquy. According to a reliable source, bass player Andrew Clyde has purchased a station wagon and bass synth, so expect a national tour soon." -Patrick McGinn, In Your Speakers