I feel lucky to call myself a fan and a friend of the supernaturally-inclined band, Charming Disaster. Their songs are catchy and clever, and each feels like its own tightly-crafted short story stuffed to the gills with sonic seances, tragicomic circus acts, nocturnal murders, and fractured folklore. (If you haven't heard their shimmering afterlife anthem, Ghost Story, on Welcome to Night Vale, then you must remedy that posthaste.)
Well joy of joys, they have a brand new album out called Cautionary Tales, and hand on heart I haven't been able to stop listening to it since its release. It's a musical jewel box, steeped in myth and mystique, with lush orchestration and their signature literary lyrics. It has tunes about lunar deities, star-crossed espionage, wicked waltzes, and the elegance of entropy. It spans genres as well, with bits of folk noir, slo-motown, and baroque punk sprinkled throughout. In sum: addictive, fanciful fun.
My favorite tracks keep shifting because the entire album is so scrumptious, but I will say Phosphorescent Lilies in particular makes my bones ache with longing beauty. And a pox on Marvel if they don't license Ragnarok for their next Thor 3 promo.
So if you're like me and you like your love letters burnt at the edges, your tarot twisted, and your horror stories Gorey, then you will love Charming Disaster's "Cautionary Tales." Listen to it on your next road trip across Bifrost.
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