Charley Puts Her Heart On Her Sleeve In TIMEBOMBS
Photo by Tim Ashton
I’m about to introduce you to the purest and most talented bundle of pop joy. The Sydney-based pop singer/songwriter Charley has already dominated the charts with millions of streams from her singles so far, but now she has released her highly-anticipated EP, TIMEBOMBS.
Since her first single ‘Hard For Me’, Charley recalls how her progress has been a “long slow process” with a lot of waiting between singles. Just like any artist, Charley had to use a lot of patience to have faith in her future in music. Despite not being “anywhere near where (I) want to be” at the moment, Charley is recognising how people are starting to notice and appreciate her music, so having a bigger body of work that reflects who Charley makes this release a whole lot more special for her.
On this topic, Charley and I were discussing how many peers struggle to get near where Charley has reached in such a short amount of time. Furthermore, she gave me an insight into her growing number of streams which is TikTok (shocker I know), explaining how for many of us that "TikTok is our best friend" to get recognised for your work as a creative, which as much as many of us hate, we all know she’s not wrong.
Music has been a big influence on both sides of Charley’s family. She has felt super lucky to have had that support and natural introduction to music in her life. Charley specifically noted how her grandpa "would always make sure she would hit the right note and make her vibrato sound nice", which has paid off.
After lots of giggles around the struggles of TikTok marketing and finding a career as a creative, we dived into “Worst Taste In Girls”. This wasn’t a planned song in any way. Charley recalls how she thought she initially had the songs ready for the EP before the beginning of her trip - but we all know nothing ever goes to plan. During her time in America, she wrote a song that you can still see on Charley’s face, which hits home as she speaks to me. “I just kept falling for people who didn’t like me (not necessarily just girls) and it felt right to write this about a girl that hurt me at that time”. Moving onto “Heartbreaker” the song explores the hurt and frustration she had in a “long-distance relationship” when a guy she dated broke her heart. Again, this was another song where the emotions rose for the singer, however, she is grateful that she has music as an outlet during tough times.
TIMEBOMBS was made along a two-year process of writing. Charley feels that when she is thrown into new environments her creative process is pushed beyond what she thought was possible. All of these songs were written overseas with “new writers in new scenarios” which is where Charley “thrives” as a writer. The unpredictability of not knowing where a song could go was a key motivator for her.
The vulnerable and heartbreaking EP took a lot of courage to release. Coming from a place of hurt “Heartbreaker” and “Doomsday” were two key tracks where she had to go against her fears and release for her listeners to understand her authentically.
Having to bring up situations that hurt her through the songs that she’s written has been difficult, but she tries to remind herself that without the heartbreak, she wouldn’t have the body of work that we have been blessed with today.
After listening to the EP, I mentioned to Charley how I recognised an influence from a strong mix of pop, punk and country icons - aka the perfect recipe for an excellent collection of songs by Charley. She reveals that the EP has hints of Charlie Puth, Max Martin, Paramore (Timebomb), Ariana Grande (Burnout), Noah Cyrus (Stupid Thing To Say), Mimi Webb (Worst Taste In Girls), Michael Jackson (Heartbreaker) and specifically Justin Bieber (Running Wild) “in his pop realm”. In summary, a collection of everyone's favourite artists to dance and cry to at the same time.
With most of the acts she has supported so far, their crowds have included queer communities. After touring with MAY-A and Stephen Sanchez and then about to head on the road with GFLIP, Charley feels super grateful and excited to feel safe within herself when performing, especially with queer communities watching her. Most importantly, her headline tour is what is super exciting for Charley as she “can’t wait to cry together” and share the music from the EP. For many musicians, performing their music live is just as important as creating the body of work itself, which is why Charlie has "gone all out" for this tour.
I for one cannot wait to see where Charley goes in the future with her music journey, but for now, make sure you stream TIMEBOMBS here and grab a ticket to her headline tour here!
