Some More Stuff I Missed in 2018 from The Suncharms and Character Actor

Life Gets in the Way

Slowly but surely, I'm getting to some of the things I intended to mention throughout 2018. And, look at it this way. My being late to the party on some things is just a way to shine a continued, well-deserved (albeit tiny) spotlight on some of these releases. Stuff doesn't stop being worth your time just because it may be a few weeks or months or even years old.

Anyway...

The Suncharms, "Red Dust"

The Suncharms formed in Sheffield back in 1989. Their dreamy, shoegaze-ish sound landed them supporting slots with bands like Catherine Wheel, Television Personalities, The Orchids, Cranes, and Curve. The band released two EPs in 1991 and even did a Peel Session. By 1993, however, bandmembers' lives started moving in different directions; and The Suncharms called it quits by April of that year.

In 1992, The Suncharms had been discussing maybe releasing a single with Slumberland. They sent a DAT; never heard back, so assumed it wasn't meant to be. Fast-forward to 2016. The parties were chatting again, and Slumberland confessed to having never received that DAT two decades earlier. They were interested in new music, however; and the result of all of that was The Suncharms' release of "Red Dust" last year.

The Suncharms' sound maintains the wall of guitar feel of their shoegaze contemporaries but trades out some of the explosive noise for more subdued, pensive pop. It sits pretty squarely in the CoolDad Music wheelhouse.

"Red Dust" b/w "Film Soundtrack" is out now on Slumberland Records.



Character Actor, Character Actor

Speaking of the differing directions that life can take, parenthood is a pretty common one. For the members of Character Actor, fatherhood saw them putting the brakes on some projects; but it brought them together for something new.

Made up of Jeff Schroeck (The Ergs!, Black Wine) on vocals and guitar, Brian Gorsegner (Night Birds) on drums, and Evan Kiel (Full Of Fancy) on bass, Character Actor released their self-titled, four-song, seven-minute EP last spring. It's aggressively bouncy (bouncily aggressive?) power pop on "Out of Hands," "What I Learned from Righteous Cowboys," and "On Rubicon Beach." It's something a little more melodic, complete with vocal harmonies, on "72 Paperbacks." It's a solid set of extremely enjoyable songs that draws from all of the best parts of the members' other bands. It's, by definition, dad rock.



Character Actor the EP is out now on Dirt Cult Records. Character Actor the band play Asbury Park Brewery on February 1st along with Swamp City Rockers and Von Mons.

So, you see? Life can get in the way, but then you can release some new music after a long time or you can get together with some friends who live nearby and start cranking out some songs or you can just start getting back to doing the stuff you've always done.