Charl Ry – A Rock Among The Stars

Charl Ry – A Rock Among The Stars – Album Review

I’d have to check with Mitchel Paulson to know for sure, but there’s a solid chance that good ol’ Charl Ry here is now the leading artist/band to be reviewed here on our pages under the most different names.  This is not an open competition, mind you – and don’t go thinking you can circumvent my system for consistently pushing away those that wanna be reviewed again and again and again in the course of my one lifetime…but if you’re able to keep me amused and interested, I suppose anything is possible.  I just appreciate variety more than most I suppose.  At the end of the day, I try not to be too biased about anything that I do, but I’ll admit, I like this dude & I’ve always found something to enjoy about his music…and while you might not realize it, he finds a way to appear on our pages about 3-5 times a year.  Moniker-wise, he’s a shapeshifter…musically, he’s pretty much got his thing and he’s dialed into it.  He’s been pretty much the whole soundtrack to packing up my old house and moving into my new one.  Now that we’re settled, and the internet is finally hooked up, I better tell you about this album A Rock Among The Stars before he changes his name again & I start to fall behind as I get another submission.

“I got Final Destination’d in a dream,” he starts out singin’ on “If Fortune Smiles,” which by contrast to the title, would have you believe that fortune in fact, did not smile at all.  Better in a dream than in real life, ain’t it?  The REAL question I have about “If Fortune Smiles” is whether or not Charl Ry is actually being TRUTHFUL with us, his deserving audience.  Let’s be real here – how many times have we heard in television shows and movies that IF YOU DIE IN YOUR DREAMS, YOU DIE IN REAL LIFE?  And c’mon now – all these corporate studios and storytellers wouldn’t be lying to us, would they?  Are we to believe this one example from Charl, or the literal thousands that have fictionally proven we’ll never wake up again if we die whilst snoozing?  If Freddy Kruger has taught us anything, it’s that we can certainly be harmed while we’re sleeping at the very least…yet here we are, Mr. “I got Final Destination’d” seems to be just fine…physically at least.  It’s crystal clear that his situation had a lasting mental impact, and on “If Fortune Smiles,” he’s waxing about mortality & somewhat lamenting that we all end up with our names scrawled on a stone slab when it’s all said and done.  Most of us anyway.  Maybe?  I don’t know how many folks go that route these days.  Cremation’s such a cheaper way to go.  My wife has explicit instructions to load my ashes into the belly of an acoustic guitar, and then smash that motherfucker to pieces on a stone at our favorite camping spot.  I digress.  I really like this song as an opener.  It’s one of those tunes that’ll separate the optimists from the pessimists out there I suppose.  Are you upset by the fact that he chose to start his new album talking about DEATH, or pleased he’s around to tell the tale?  Regardless of what your take on his lyrics might be, and believe me, theories will always vary when it comes to the music of Charl Ry in whatever form you find it in…I think we can all agree this sounds great.

You know who doesn’t think about their mortality every second of the day?  Your average “Stray Dog.”  At least I assume…I’ll admit, I haven’t discussed this with each that I’ve met along the way.  I don’t pet the heads of dogs I’ve just encountered and say, “good boy – have you considered the fact that today might be a very good day to die?”  That seems a little morbid.  I’d probably approach it more like friendly advice and simply leave it at “make sure to look both ways before you cross the street you handsome lil’ fella” and hope for the best.  Anyhow.  Music!  Yes.  I was writing about music.  “Stray Dog” is kind of a unique and interesting track in that it manages to beat the odds of repetition wearing itself out.  When you listen to the music in the verses, you’ll get what I mean…Charl’s attached himself to a very specific riff in “Stray Dog” and probably leans harder on it than you’d expect him to.  Heck, when he doesn’t add the extra noodlin’ to it, it’s really just a couple of notes for him to sing along with – and that actually shouldn’t work at all – yet somehow, it does.  The curious nature of the music really gets you engaged and listening closely to the plight of our “Stray Dog” hero.  His mind always goes strange places lyrically.  This dog COULD have been on a fun adventure, yet this “Stray Dog” seemingly never had a chance from the very start.  By the end, he’s drinking muddy water and only has fleas for friends.  WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU CHARL RY?  Why couldn’t he have had a happy ending after all he’s been through?

Dude’s a wonderfully gifted player with a very unique musical mind when it comes right down to it.  It’s all very specific to him…like to the point where he’s got so much identity in his sound that it’ll never matter how many times he changes his name to something else – we all know who it is, every time.  But in that respect, I’ve got respect – how many times have you read about me bitching about this person or that person not having ANY identity in the music they make?  The sea of sameness is ENDLESS!  Yet here we are, listening to a guy sing “Another One Of These,” admiring the fact that he’s got so much identity in the music he makes he tries to hide it instead, adopting a series of different names and side projects as if that could mask the sound & style that’s inherent to his craft.  He lightens-up just a little bit on this third tune though…so if you’ve been sad about Charl writing about death and dogs with sad dispositions to this point, you’ll be pleased to know that “Another One Of These” is a little easier to take, subjectively speaking of course.  I suspect he’s actually singing about the mood and the moment here, where “Another One Of These” seems like a really good thing to have at the time…but lest we forget, “when the morning comes,” the sobering reality can hit you as hard as the hangover does if you’re not too careful.  In any event, I probably liked the first two songs a little better if we’re talkin’ about the music, and probably thematically too…but I don’t mind what we hear in this third cut at all either.  I’m just comparing the man to himself and his other projects and such…that’s about all we can really do at this point.  I’m well aware of the fact that Charl Ry could write “Another One Of These” falling out of bed on the way to the floor – he never runs out of something new to inspire him, and that’s one of the things we love most about him here.  Music comes naturally to him yes, but I also know for a fact that he’s out there, wherever he is, working on his craft and writing more tunes whenever he’s got a spare second, which is another thing we love about the guy.  He puts everyone’s work ethic to shame, and one day, when he’s in the old folks home, he’ll be able to revisit an entire journal detailed solely in music that will remind him about the days gone by.  He’ll be able to rest then, and listen to his music like we are now.  This track is part love-song, part drunken rambling, part stone-cold reality…it’s an amusing combination.

Now, he wouldn’t know this as an American, but the hypnotizing qualities at the beginning of “Universe To Universe” works very similarly to how you’d feel when listening to “Psychopomp” starts out on The Tea Party’s Transmission album.  Which in itself is interesting, given that that was their most Industrial-based record and what you’re hearing on A Rock Among The Stars is pretty much exclusively acoustic.  As I’m sure you could imagine if you were just starting to listen, it’s really just that one mesmerizing acoustic element that drives the comparison…the rest is all unique unto themselves as their songs continue to take shape.  I really like the main hook in the chorus of “Universe To Universe” – that’s probably the part that appealed to me the most, because the verses are closer to something I’ve already experienced I guess…I still like’em, but it’s the chorus that really brings out the magic of this song.  It’s definitely a case of one half needing the other of course, but yeah…it is what it is in terms of what I felt made a bigger impact on my ears I guess.  Were it not for the hypnosis that Charl lulls you into, that chorus wouldn’t be as effective in snapping you out of it, you know what I mean?  What I also thought was cool was that he didn’t go the explosive route like “Psychopomp” did back in the day, and instead, that next part of his song takes an even dreamier direction…but that’s when we really start to actively pay attention again too.  That’s not to be dismissive or say he’s doesn’t have anything going on in the verses of this tune, but that hypnotic quality achieves what it intentionally sets out to do…and then we eventually snap out of its grip on us, and it feels freakin’ NICE, to be honest.  He’s singing a lot about our place in the universe…the specks of dust that we are & such…musing on our relative insignificance by comparison to the rest of how much is out there.  “Limitations are such a curse” he sings, and he’s right.

“In Autumn’s Decline” is…objectively speaking…just a really damn good song.  If I’m hearing it correctly, it’s somewhat about just shutting right down…mentally, emotionally, likely even physically…to “shut down like a garden ‘In Autumn’s Decline’.”  He’s working with a very threadbare backdrop of acoustic guitar, but it’s all the song needs.  Ultimately, I guess that while it’s about a declination & such, if you’re really listening, I think it’s much more about trying to figure out what rekindles the spark to want to do the things you used to be able to do with ease…finding that light in the darkness that’ll bring you back to the surface so you can breach your sunken doom and breathe again.  It’s kind of a perfect example of how you don’t need all the bells and whistles we put into music unnecessarily – you just need to do what the song is calling out for, like Charl is here.  Now…you can argue this way or that way about how a song may or may not be ‘finished’ until you find some kind of hooks to get people to listen…and maybe that is, or isn’t important…for some folks it is, and for others, it just isn’t.  Again, I think that if you’re really tapped into your material and you’re doing what the song is asking you for, then sometimes you’re going to end up with the kind of hooks you need for some semblance of universal allure – but even if that’s not what you come out with, chances are you’ve still got something fascinating or artistic or simply a well-written song that has a certain vibe that’ll speak to a lot of people on different levels instead.  In short (which, yeah, I probably should have lead with…I see that now), I’m one of those people that would listen to “In Autumn’s Decline” and feels like it’s a solid song & stunning piece of art.  I don’t need to sing along with the songs I love most.  I could, eventually learn the words and I’m sure that I will – but you get what I mean…it’s not the kind of song that, in my opinion, needs obvious hooks.  A song like this IS the hook…you don’t single out a piece or fragment of it, cause the whole thing is aces.

Where going a simpler, less complicated route can become problematic, is where you don’t really have as much of an ‘out’ as other songs do.  You’re here, you’re listening to a song like “The Witness,” and that’s the vibe you’re rockin’ with – and it’s either going to be enough for people, or it isn’t – it’s just a black & white reaction that we all have when we’re listening to music.  So in an example like this, where it takes a few iterations before it kind of attempts to do something differently than the simplicity at first suggests it will, I think you’ve just gotta trust the process and know that what you’re doing leads to the right results.  Like, I might even go as far as to say “The Witness” might be the real unsung hero in this lineup…the mellow intensity is supremely cool to listen to, and I think Charl makes it clear from the very start that this particular song is so very based in story that the music is what’s supporting the words, rather than the other way around like so many other songs.  Obviously there are going to be some that might not ‘get’ something like this…you hear how little there is going on in the verses – it’s just the strum on muted strings, and ‘who can’t do that’ you might think – but that’s precisely where you’d be wrong.  I say this to those detractors – if that’s how you feel, then go ahead and try doing it…see how that plays out for ya.  Chances are, you’ll fall pretty short of being entertaining.  Real masters of their craft can completely lay out the secrets to their own success, because there’s no risk at all – you likely cannot do what they can do, even with a detailed map of instructions.  So while you might be inclined to pick apart what seems like a simple strum…you’ll go on to notice things like the suspense Charl creates while singing…the clever additions that he makes musically in behind that muted strum…the production on the song itself and how you could hear a pin drop even as you listen to it…and the many intangible aspects of writing that makes this a quality listen…the gift for lyricism & whatnot.  This song is that recipe that chefs create by using ‘simplified ingredients’ to create a meal you wanna eat over and over.  Now…if you’re asking me if he saved one of his best additions for last with the way he’s got another layer of guitar contributing right before it’s all over and whether he should have pulled the trigger on that a bit earlier…we can have that debate.  Even in recognizing the mastery of storytelling he’s put into this song and appreciating the way it slowly develops and builds, sure, I might have still wanted more of that finale to appear earlier at some point, cause the musical hook is potent.  He’s given himself plenty of space and opportunity to do a whole bunch of different things in the way he sings this song as well, and that’s cool too…it’s not like he’s ignored the music, believe me – “The Witness” is an extremely well thought-out track, filled with more twists and turns than you’ll realize until the end, and then it’s over.

Lemme see here…what can I tell ya about “Wronging The Right?”  Well…for starters, I like the title.  I don’t know if it’s gonna beat a similar line like you’ll find in Petey’s “The Freedom To Fuck Off” where he sings “been fucking off wrong my whole life, now I’m fucking off right” – but it’s still pretty cool.  This would be one of those spots where you might find yourself appreciating the song more than you might feel like it’s the one you get attached to…at least at first.  A track like this could very well grow on ya with a little time & experience listening to it…I’m not ruling that out.  It’s got this mix of old-world charm to it, seeming like it can reach into the past at points to grab a piece of melody that sounds vaguely familiar, like pieces of a song your grandparents might have listened to back when they were growing up.  Charl updates that enough to make it modern enough that you’ll listen to it enough…hopefully?  Look – I don’t KNOW you.  I mean, we’re friends and all, aren’t we?  But we don’t like…KNOW-KNOW each other, do we dear readers, dear friends?  Maybe you’ll listen to “Wronging The Right” and you’ll be like, THAT song for me, is like how the writer (yours truly) felt about “The Witness” – and if that’s the case, and that’s how you feel, then right on!  I can understand how someone could feel that way, even if I might not feel totally the same way myself.  It’s hard to say…I really love what he’s doing with the lead guitar, and the main hook of “Wronging The Right” where he’s singing the title aloud is freakin’ magnificent – literally one of my favorite highlights in any song on this album.  As a whole song…I’ve had days where I’ve listened to this and it’s all I wanna hear, and others where I wasn’t as in the mood for it I guess, but none where I didn’t appreciate the songwriting or the effort that’s been put into it.  By taking a simpler approach to the music on this particular record, under this shiny new name of his, he’s really found all the right ways to pay attention to the finest details that really matter when you’re making an album.  “Wronging The Right” is actually ‘Righting A Wrong’ in that regard…Charl has shifted his focus in the writing of this record and his evolution as an artist really shows up clearly through all he’s stripped away.

Fun FACT for you regarding songwriting – we all have patterns and things that we do that we don’t even notice we’re doing.  When it comes to the vocal-centric way that Charl approaches his music, it’s often his voice that leads the way, even before the music comes into play.  If you’re into the brass tacks of numbers and such, then dig this – there is actually no song on this album that takes longer to introduce the vocals than twenty seconds.  Eight of the nine tracks on A Rock Among The Stars have the vocals coming in before fifteen seconds have even passed – the only one that stretches further towards the twenty second mark is “Stray Dog.”  Arguably though, “Stray Dog” could also be THE track that people notice the music makes more of a memorable impact when it comes to this record too…and I guess we have to ask ourselves if that’s merely a coincidence, or wonder if a couple seconds could actually make that much difference.  You’ll notice the similarities in structures like “If Fortune Smiles” and “To Be So Lucky” though…they’re the clearest examples, even if they end up being completely different songs by the time is all said and done.  “To Be So Lucky” almost has a chord progression similar to “Creep” by Radiohead at a couple points in the song too…which is a neat thing that I don’t think many people would pick up on, because it sounds nothing like “Creep” – but if you’re paying close attention, you’ll hear it.  Anyhow…I think this track probably wins for the music…that’s what keeps me most interested and engaged with it…that acoustic guitar is sparklin’ and shinin’ and it just sounds awesome.  Vocally, it’s well-sung but without too much goin’ on in the melody that you’d remember I suppose.  Lyrically, I think he’s got a solid idea here…I’d guess that “To Be So Lucky” is really about expressing gratitude and taking stock of the things you appreciate in life, though theories may vary I’m sure.  At the end of the day, tracks seven & eight (sorry kids, I’m doing six-seven wrong) are probably the pinch point on this album that’ll challenge listeners to stick with it a bit more by comparison to the rest, but they each have their own redeeming qualities still.  Is it MY FAULT that “To Be So Lucky” doesn’t really stick with me so much, or is it HIS FAULT for creating eight other songs in this lineup that do?  You be the judge & jury on that.

“Dancing In The Yard” is a sweet ending to the album that I could see has a strong chance of being fairly universally loved by all that are listening to Charl Ry’s new record here.  Working with a combination of hypnotic repetition, “Dancing In The Yard” was the right time to throw that switch and lean into that…repetition is a highly effective tool in music when it’s used right.  From what I can tell, it’s a song that’s pretty much about the perfectly imperfect parts of life…where sure, it might be raining, or you might get a leaf or two in your hair, but all the extraneous things that happen don’t matter, because you’re in the moment and it has everything you need.  It’s a beautiful song when it comes right down to it…where two people are the calm in the storm surrounding them, just “Dancing In The Yard” like none of the neighbors are even watching.  WELL GUESS WHAT MOTHERFUCKER, THEY ARE!  Ethel is sitting there in her sewing room with her binoculars out to get a real close look and make sure you’re keeping a respectful distance while you’re dancing.  Susie has her whole face pressed right up against the glass so tightly that she may as well just join in with ya since she’s clearly so interested.  Mike finds it real damn strange that he’s been watching you captivated for the past twenty minutes when he simply got up to get another beer from the fridge, Dana has been right in the feels as she watches and misses David who went off to fight in the war back in ’44 and still awaits his return, and Karen, predictably, has already dialed 9 and 1 and is debating pressing the final 1 to call the cops and KEEP THIS FILTHY SMUT OUTTA HER NEIGHBORHOOD.  Alright, maybe none of that has happened…maybe some it has…I don’t know anything for a certain fact beyond the fact that I love this song and all that it stands for.  All kidding aside, this is another magnificent example of great writing & execution combined, along with once again knowing where to draw the line in terms of what to include & what to leave out.  I’ve got a pulse and I’ve got a heart (somewhere)…this might even be MY favorite of the set when it comes right down to it.  At the very least, it belongs in the conversation.  The emotion that is expressed here is downright special…”Dancing In The Yard” is the mood and the moment combined.  It’s a stunning finale that could easily have you reaching for the Kleenex even though you can’t help but smile at the same time…you might be in for an ugly cry as you listen, because it’s so incredibly beautiful…you’ve been warned.

You can find out more about Charl Ry from…ahhh fuck, I don’t know where he’s stashing his music online under this particular name this time around…hmm…fuggin try this link here (I think?):  https://play.anghami.com/song/1235971867