Charl Ry – Detective Fever

Charl Ry – Detective Fever – Album Review

Hmmm…what was this guy on about at the end of the interview we just did with Charl Ry earlier this month?  He was chirpin’ about wanting to know something about his new record…or needed the answer to a mystery of some sort…or no, wait – the album IS the mystery…was that it?  I can barely see anything here with this candle blowing in the darkness as the wind from the storm outside creeps in from the cracks in my windows, shuffling all my notes until I’m right back at square one.  It’s really wrecking the order of the clues I’ve been putting together while listening to this album over the past month, and obviously wreaking havoc on the accuracy of the spells I’ve been casting on my neighbors, because they’re all still here.

Anyhow.  So here’s the thing young buck…you wanted to know about the start of an album and whether or not this here song “Remove My Eyelids” was a good choice…something along those lines.  Its gentle strum…is it too gentle?  The sparkle of the guitar…is it too sparkly?  The absence of energy…is it too absent?  So many questions and so little time, right?  Look Charl…look Ry…look my guy…what you NEED at the start of an album isn’t necessarily a banger made for the club – it just needs to be interesting enough to keep listening, simple as that.  Is “Remove My Eyelids” that?  Absolutely it is!  If I’m being entirely real with ya, the guitar alone is so damn remarkable that I’d have kept on listening if that’s all there was.  And the recording on this opener?  Fucking immaculate dude.  You were clearly going for some kind of like…intro-esque, musical prologue type of tune…and you nailed it.  Is it Charl Ry’s “Hotel California?”  I mean…I’m not here to make comments on EVERYTHING under the sun, so much as I exist to just rant and rave about a few very select and specific shiny things that happen to catch my attention.  For real though, “Remove My Eyelids” audibly sounds like the start of piecing together a mystery and the search for clues…the guitar work is outstanding, but the vocals are extremely effective as well.  The whole thing becomes haunting quite quickly, but somehow oddly comforting, chilled out & calming too.

Yeah man…intriguing is the way to go.  Sure, bombastic energy can be a great way to start out an album in order to make sure everyone’s paying attention and all…but great storytelling & the right kind of song structures can often have the same effect.  “True Attempts” sounds like it has that.  It’s competing hard with whomever is out in the back of this apartment complex moving the lawn and blowing the leaves, so I’m doing my best to keep an ear pressed against the speaker…but I get the general impression that it’s keeping the energy consistent.  If anything, that’s probably more of a concern in the grand scheme of an album’s design…as in, it’s not always about where it starts, but where things go.  So is the risk in having a slow & sleepy opener, or is it in having two of those types of songs appear back-to-back?  Once again, I’d argue that the intrigue is what’ll keep us listening here, alongside the noticeably flawless production.  Charl’s clearly putting the work into finding the right level of clarity for his sound, and he don’t need to look any further…he’s got it here.  Listen to how the supporting instrumentation works when it chimes in…listen to the solo…I mean, he’s got all the air and ambience outta his production like he’s found a way to vacuum seal his ideas!  Honestly, it’s a huge part of the allure in these opening two tracks so far.

Jeez man…howz about you just keep on crushing it?  The first strums of “Play The Sap” sound incredible!  As to whether or not there’s a song here…I might be a bit less convinced about that.  That’s kind of the thing when it comes to the music Charl Ry and his seventy-five musical aliases works though…the music is a vehicle for the stories he tells in many cases, so it’s kind of like he invents an atmosphere to tell them through, rather than what usually happens the opposite way artists typically design their songs.  It takes a listen or two sometimes just to figure out what he might end up using for a hook or chorus, and that’s probably true of “Play The Sap” – but when you get it, you get it, and you’ll be happy that you did.  There’s like…this layer of sweetness in the way he sings the chorus of this song that really worked for me, almost like he was claiming he wouldn’t “Play The Sap,” whilst at the same time knowing he would absolutely “Play The Sap” for this particular person anyway and any day of the week.  Might just be my take on it…but that’s what I’m hearing.  Listen to the lyricism in the verses…my theory is fully possible.  The guitar is once again nothing short of brilliant at its best, and sure, a little noodle-y when it’s not that.

You end up with different priorities and different things you focus on as you move from record to record as an artist, whether you realize it or not.  I listen to Detective Fever, and it’s pretty obvious to me that it’s much more about the story in the songs and the clarity of the instrumentation/production this time around…and to be fair, Ry-guy has been exceeding expectations in that regard.  Trading a bit of easy accessibility for a more ambitious & artistic approach, you’re still going to find hooks around here somewhere, but you’ll have to be more of a detective yourself to find them.  Charl ain’t here to spoon feed ya…you’ll have to do a bit of work on your end to figure out what will connect you to some of these songs.  Like, to me, there’s a remarkable hook on “Nothing Loath” that’s pretty awesome…or…awesomely pretty, depending on how you look at it and/or which holes you’re listening with – but most artists/bands either wouldn’t, or wouldn’t be able to, build a song around it.  So on the one hand, you get a solid dose of uniqueness, which is great.  On the other hand, “Nothing Loath” is still somewhat tough to love overall as a result – make sense?  I think you’ve got access points like the amazing sound of the man’s guitar once again…you’ve got the brilliant way he sings the chorus…these are the pieces I’d expect will make the most impact on people out there listening.  What makes it tough is that you don’t get that first dose of the hook until about fifty seconds in, and “Nothing Loath” might be a little on the plain side until it gets to that magical part comes around.  It’s more than convincing enough to bring you back for another spin without a doubt…like the chorus might have one of what will become your favorite hooks in the whole set, but the journey to get there is a little skewed against us.

“The Day Before” is a track I really loved, and still felt a bit at odds with at points as I listened.  It’d be like, some super weird minutiae type stuff that’s all personal preference bullshit, like I was hoping for the sweetest part of the guitar/song to stay in that lighter & brighter gear as opposed to bringing in a bit of a thicker low-end set of notes to it…but whatever, that’s the kind of stuff you can live with.  For the vast majority, I’ve got no problem at all loving on “The Day Before,” and lyrically, it’s just one of those tunes I hope people really absorb & take something away from.  Written from the perspective of a person that has either already died or is just about to and realizing how many things they didn’t do, you can think of “The Day Before” as the kind of song designed to encourage you to EAT THE FUCKING PIE before you go.  I’ll be honest and tell you that I don’t think any of us have a hope in hell of doing everything we should do, or would want to do, in the course of a single lifetime…so believe me, I feel a song like “The Day Before” and I’m equally pissed about the fact we’ll never, ever, be able to get to it all.  Still…Charl reminds us about a few of the things we probably should keep focused on as we’re busy livin’ life throughout his lyricism on “The Day Before,” and while he’s lamenting his own plight, he’s actually actively provoking and pleading with us to make better choices in the process.  I kind of do as I say track rather than do as I did, you following me?  Ahh…you’ll get it when you hear it, I’m fully confident in that.

How DO I feel about “Freeze?”  Seriously…I’m asking.  Do any of you know?  I am totally willing to go along with whatever you might say, because I’ve been relentlessly unsure about this one.  I’ll just write my thoughts out as scattered as they came to me, and see if they make any sense to you.  At first I was like, maybe it’s all a little too matchy-matchy for me design wise?  Or a little too simple?  Then I was like, yeah, but it’s the simple ingredients that stack up to a great recipe, right?  Then I admired the precision way Charl played this with the stop/start approach.  Then I was like, where the hell did this other part come from and wow is it ever way more involved than the rest of this song, of which I’m sure Charl Ry could practically play in his sleep?  And what about the whole “below zero” part?  Isn’t that a bit much?  Or is that just like, one of those hooks I try to resist, but still have to acknowledge works thoroughly?  And then like…shouldn’t this whole song come along with a Dave dance?  You know the one.  If you’ve ever seen Dave Matthews Band play live, you know the exact Dave dance I’m talkin’ about.  Seems like it would be a suitable time to bust that out here, doesn’t it?  Is there enough to “Freeze” to warrant its existence?  Like, if Charl had to face the almighty Inquisitor from Red Dwarf, would he be able to justify this song?  Am I just “champing at the bit for another argument” – or am I making valid points?  Fuck if I know, that’s why I was asking for your help in trying to figure that out.  I don’t have the answers.  I’d have spins where I liked the subtle rhythm & funk tucked away into “Freeze,” and other times where I had to wonder if there was enough goin’ on to keep the rest of you listeners entertained.  Ultimately, I think I’m going to say that Ry has managed to do the most he could with a little here…and it…works?

“There’s paradise and there’s hell, what’s in between is hard to tell.”  #BoyIsThatTheTruthOrWhat?  There are some fantastic lines within “Such A Great Divide,” and clearly, you get the opportunity to ponder your existence and what it all means and all that…who doesn’t love another excuse to do that?  We are living, literally, philosophically, metaphorically, and physically in “Such A Great Divide” aren’t we?  At a HEFTY 6:36, I think the main questions surrounding this particular tune is whether or not it needs all that extra length – it’s the longest track on the album by at least a minute or so.  And in many ways, it’s one of the least complex or involved cuts Charl created.  Do I appreciate the extra time to think about the words and such?  Sure!  Do I need it?  No!  Does he change anything too much along the way?  Also no!  You pretty much get what you get with “Such A Great Divide” and I’m a little perplexed as to what made the guy pull this one over the six & a half minute mark myself.  I’m happy to listen to it – I like the song…but yeah…interesting choice as to which track ended up being the longest from Detective Fever.  That’s Charl though…he does things differently, and it’s best to not put up too much resistance to it.  Dude would never just be happy as a clam – he’s “happy as a bed of clams” instead, you know what I mean?  He’s not like us.  Don’t go thinking you’re breathing the same air that he is – cause you’re not.  All kidding aside, “Such A Great Divide” is a good tune, and it’s consistent with the rest.  I think many folks listening will appreciate the cohesive sound & consistency that comes with this album.

That being said, does Detective Fever have enough of the kind of dynamics that will keep you engaged, or is it stocked with songs you’ll appreciate more than listen to…because that might be a valid question.  It also might be one that we all have to answer individually, based on what we like to hear in a record.  Like, I really like “Calendar Year” for example – I think it’s one of the album’s better tunes…but at the end of the day, I’m also hoping that it doesn’t kind of get lost by the wayside as well, because the whole album is filled with tracks moving at a similar pace & barebones approach.  So circling back to the initial question I had coming into this album’s review from the interview we did with Charl Ry earlier this month, where he asked about whether “Remove My Eyelids” had enough energy for listeners tuning in – to which I’d now say, what was the alternative?  Which track, pray tell, would have made a better choice?  This entire set-list is stripped back, sleepy, and slow…none of that being a bad thing, but yeah, it doesn’t really have that dynamic flexibility you tend to find in the lineups of most records.  In a way, that plays to your advantage as time goes on…Detective Fever might not be what you’d think it would be on that initial spin, but you’ll know exactly when you want to reach for an album like this in the future.  Anyhow…shake yourself awake if you gotta, because you shouldn’t miss out on songs written as superbly as “Calendar Year” is, or at the very least, let the music on this album be the last thing you hear as you fall asleep for the night…that’s fine too.  The album has a mesmerizingly mellow cadence to it all.

Even when he’s lighting up the fretboards on “The Playbook,” it’s not like he’s even raised his own pulse.  “The Playbook” for Detective Fever is keeping things chill…we don’t wanna go causing a scene or some kind of epic public freakout, so relax a bit, and have a listen to an album that wouldn’t even make Pussy Riot.  See what I did there?  Wordplay!  Good times.  We have that in common though, Charl and I.  You’ll hear plenty of his own through the lyricism throughout this album, and certainly here within “The Playbook” as well.  You won’t be able to resist that opening guitar hook though, I’ll tell ya that much – we’ll all have that in common.  It generates universal interest, and hey, that ain’t a bad way to start a song now is it?  “The Playbook” is one of those truly tight loose tunes that somewhat defies description.  It’s a vibe, as the kids would say…a feeling you get when you listen to it.  Nothing out of place here, but it’s also like Charl started into this with no agenda too.  Which is insane to think about, because he plays it with purpose & intention and you can HEAR that, but “The Playbook” feels like it just wanders along without any real concern for stopping to say hello to anything too typical, or ending up wherever it seems to be going.  Then, just as you’re becoming sure there’s not a whole lot too this track, you’ll listen to it again and think, hey wait a second here – is this actually Charl Ry getting political?  And by George, I think it very well could be!  It’s as tricky as ever to figure that out, because like I told ya earlier, he’s not the kind of artist that’s just going to make it easy for you…but after you really start letting his maze of words work its magic on you, soon enough you’ll arrive at the center of your own illumination, and you’ll genuinely hear this song in a completely different way than you were only moments before.  He’s never going to be the type of dude that just comes out and says something plain as day…but my theory is, if you’re really paying attention to the words of this tune, there are definitely things that point directly to some objective observations about the current administration and the state of our modern day politics.

What is often said about great albums is that they give you a reason to listen at the start, and a reason to return at the end…and I certainly think you’ll find that’s the case with Detective Fever.  “What’s in between is hard to tell,” as he explained earlier on “Such A Great Divide,” but as far as the beginning and endings of this album are concerned, I’m pretty confident that most folks tuning in would probably tell you they’re the best two tracks on the album.  Vocally, “My Shoes” is one of the best songs I’ve heard the guy sing to-date under any of his billions of musical personas.  Another highlight for his minimalism and a reveal of the splendor still be found in simple melodies, “My Shoes” is a gorgeous finale.  Like, if you were somehow on the fence about Charl Ry up to the final song on the album, this last cut would be the clincher you’d need to finally get onboard.  It’d be weird if you made it through nine songs you didn’t like just to realize that though.  Do people even do that anymore?  They’re pretty quick to change the channel or skip to something else if they don’t like what they hear these days…so I’ll presume that if you made it to track ten it’s because you liked or loved what you heard along the way.  Detective Fever is a very deliberate & intentional record, and it really does have its own highly specific, mellow vibe to it.  I kind of wanted him to go full-on Prince at the end of “My Shoes” & take this one seemingly simple tune into an epic orchestral finale complete with choir and solos all over the place with his voice way up high and such…but spoiler alert, it didn’t go that way.  Focused and professional right to the very end, “My Shoes” is the final track this album deserved, and as much as I like Prince, I wouldn’t change what I hear in this last cut at all.  It’s a beautifully humble, down to earth sound…the kind of song that drifts into your ears on the wind while you’re sitting on the porch, like a sense memory coming back to your soul.  You could lose yourself in this song for hours, so consider yourselves warned.  It makes for a stunning finish, and it supplies you with every audible reason you’d want to hear to entice you back in again for another spin.

Find more music by Charl Ry at his page at Apple Music:  https://music.apple.com/us/artist/charl-ry/1848217363

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