Well it's another new year. Before we get into some of the stuff Charge might be up to in the coming year, I thought, damn, we did some pretty awesome things in 2011.
The Defiant Ones came out in February, our first full-length album. Following up on our EP We Haven't Been Properly Introduced from the summer of 2011, the album gave us a chance to really stretch out and try a lot of different things. From the alt-punk riffage of opener "Last Door Down" to the spaghetti western bombast of the closing title track, it's wide-ranging and intense. Lithium Magazine gave it a rave review, saying we had "a rugged flare for bringing raw yet melodic sounds of alternative rock to life alongside the boisterous style of indie darlings like The National and Band of Skulls. 'The Defiant Ones' also features dynamic drum beats, punchy bass lines, jagged guitars, and haunting piano passages." ExploreMusic.com picked "Young Love" for an Indie Track of the Day, and CBC Radio 3 featured "The Real Heart". Late in the year, blogger T.O. Snob chose "Desdemona" as #4 for his Best Songs of 2011. Pretty sweet, and everyone seems to have a different fave.
We did our first real video for "Charge!!", a short and punchy take of the band sweating out the track, directed by Paul Thompson. Check it!
Jason and I got over to the UK to play some dates in Liverpool for the International Pop Overthrow, including a hilarious stint with Japanese tourists in the Cavern Pub.
Then we got to do it all over again the fall for the International Pop Overthrow right here in Toronto!
That was a pretty intense gig. I'd just had surgery for a hiatal hernia two weeks before (which you can read all about here). Sure I was recovering, but they'd made a knot out of the top of my stomach, so maybe playing was pushing it. We did have a really good show, but hoooo I was feeling that the next day!
What else happened?
We played a boat.
We played a garage.
We played a mess of club shows and wrapped the year up with a great benefit gig for Sick Kids where the bands raised nearly a grand for charity!
All in all a pretty solid year.
What's coming next? Well, that's for the next post!
