CHARLEY
At its core, TIMEBOMBS is a collection of contemporary pop anthems about good old-fashioned heartbreak. Synth-soaked and power-polished, Charley croons and swoons her way through six sparkle-sad songs about everything from her bad taste in girls, to bidding goodbye to a heartbreaker masquerading as a man. On title track ‘Timebomb’, she sings, “And every time that you kiss me means you’re closer to leaving / Every second that’s gone is one second less ‘til our ticking time bomb.”
Writing and recording this EP, Charley widened her sound scope to explore “a lot more 80s stuff”, as well as crediting the angsty anthems of Paramore and the new sound of Charlie Puth—”I think when I heard that sound going around, I thought, I wanna mess with that too.” For EP closer, the country-inspired ‘Stupid Thing to Say’, we owe Maron Morris and Noah Cyrus our thanks.
Charley’s travelled to Nashville, Sweden and Los Angeles to collaborate with international writers, made her live debut supporting artists such as Stephen Sanchez, CXLOE, MAY-A and Rebecca Black, performed at events including Isol-Aid Festival and Pop Chops, and had her debut single – ‘Hard For Me’ – attract attention on streaming, radio and online, including coveted support from Spotify, Apple Music, Side Note, NME, Pilerats, Life Without Andy and more.
And although her debut EP is a six-song journey through a broken heart, Charley hopes her new music inspires some optimism in her listeners, too. That under the dirt under the glitter, there’s a blank canvas—a chance to start again. “I know this EP is really heartbreak focused, but I still want there to be a glimpse of hope that at some point, everything’s gonna work out. Fall in love when you wanna fall in love, be heartbroken and go through all this because I feel like everything happens for a reason.”
Charley’s heart on the sleeve approach to fearless song writing proves that the future of Australian pop is in strong, talented hands, which was amplified by her recent sold out headline east coast EP tour.