Album Review: Chartreuse - 'Bless You & Be Well'
‘Bless You & Be Well’ - The album that lets Chartreuse start again.
Grief, love and loss. All universal feelings that we all inevitably have to endure. For Chartreuse, these three make up the bones of their second album, ‘Bless You and Be Well’. The release comes during a heavy time for the band but through it they have been able to renew and channel that weight into something beautiful. They recorded the album at Flóki, a rural studio in Iceland that put them five hours worth of driving away from any interruptions and outside noise. Through this refuge, they return home with something that is powerful, heartfelt, and a testament to their connection with one another.
Chartreuse have always approached songwriting and performance as a collective - unlike other bands they don’t have a ‘lead’ or frontman and instead the four members share the limelight, each often playing multiple instruments and sharing personal anecdotes. For songs like ‘Fixin’, Mike takes a turn at the front, exploring and finding solace in his own complicated feelings around insignificance where as on ‘Fold’, the odd little love song of the record, Hattie holds the reins taking the band to a slower tempo as she sings about trying to hold the pieces together while a partner goes through a difficult time. The lead single though is perhaps the strongest example of the band as an interconnected and united force. Aptly titled ‘Sequence of Voices’, it is an explosion of outward feeling and feels like a real breakthrough for everyone.
The album is unafraid to dive into difficult subject matter but does so with a candidness and sincerity that roots everything in vulnerability and honesty. Each of the members has seen a huge amount of change since they released their debut ‘Morning Ritual’ and their experiences, positive and negative, inform their artistry. Some of the situations and references are specific and unique to them, Hattie’s feelings around her imminent surgery and recovery on ‘I’m Losing It’, but others will ring true for listeners everywhere. The word that comes up over and over is loss - how it manifests, the way it makes us feel and the difficulty that comes with trying to get through it. There’s no denying that some of the songs will have you in your feelings but the overwhelming emotion you get from listening is one of hope. They articulate it perfectly with the words ‘Loss doesn’t have to be the end, you don’t have to be swallowed by it.’.
Of all the songs on the record, the eponymous track is the one that hit me the most. It is the opening track and therefore sets the precedent and tone for everything that follows. Lots of artists talk about ‘ping’ and the notion of creating a sound that reverberates in such a way that it sends shivers down your back. Sometimes known by its technical name, ‘Squillo’ is usually used to describe singing but listening to this song it feels the only accurate way to sum up the feelings it evokes. The anticipation and intrigue that builds up in the bridge is a success not only down to the band and their instrumentation but also producer Sam Petts-Davis (The Smile), a collaboration I hope will continue for projects to come. The way the track is layered creates a really cinematic feel and there's a dissonance in some of the chord progressions that doesn’t just pique your interest but maintains it. It begins with repeating melodies and lyrics before taking flight in a kind of bridge - kind of only because the track isn’t confined by the verse/chorus/verse/bridge layout. Whilst it does soar, it does so in a way that feels restrained and knowing, almost as though Chartreuse aren’t wanting to show all the tricks in their arsenal straight away. The way it creates atmosphere and introduces the band’s new regeneration make it the perfect way to open the album.
So much of what has made Chartreuse the band, or ‘not-band’ as they would prefer to call themselves, is down to the myriad of invisible strings that tie each of the members together. Brothers Mike and Rory Wagstaff who play guitar and drums are joined by Rory’s long-term partner Hattie Wilson on piano as well as Hattie’s childhood friend Perry Lovering who completes the lineup on bass. They are family, not just by blood but through the songs they share. The fluidity in their connection and the energy that flows between them is clear through their songwriting; their chemistry is what gave them the strength and assurance to explore their sound and technique on ‘Bless You’.
“It’s not that we were loose with it; it was more about not letting ourselves talk our way out of decisions or second-guess choices we were making in the moment. If it sounded good, it stayed. If it didn’t feel right, we tried something else.”
This freedom to redefine the kind of music they wanted to make continues the message that runs throughout the album; regeneration and knowing that it's okay to start again. It speaks to the innate desire for the creation of something new and the joy and excitement that comes from throwing yourself into something with the soul intention to innovate and make change.
At first glance, you’d think that ‘Bless You and Be Well’ was a farewell. In some ways, it is. In others, it’s everything but. Its beauty is in the way it straddles both the fear and the hope that come from loss. It grapples with the realisation that the version of you from then will forever be locked in time and finds comfort in the fact that grief doesn’t ever go away, it just changes shape. It calls for those experiencing tough times to find the people and things that matter and hold them close and goes to show that the first steps towards healing is community and finding the strength to share. There's a couple of gigs over the coming weeks to celebrate the album release but once Autumn is in full swing, Chartreuse head on a huge tour with 11 shows around the country and are taking Moreish Idol along for the ride.
Words by Kirsty Thomson
