Charlie Gamache's 'Lemon Grass' Is The Kind of Indie Pop Record You Could Hear A Million Times

It’s rare that I wind up tackling something that’s not at least some sort of mildly high profile release, but this really caught my attention after hearing Charlie Gamache’s serene, blissful single Feed Your Mind a month or so ago. Landing himself somewhere in between John Mayer, Tame Impala and Rex Orange County with his blissful blend of slightly psychedelic Indie Pop, Charlie’s proven he’s a captivating musician with his first full length LP Lemon Grass. I feel as though most of the time when a musical artist uploads a little solo project like this onto SoundCloud like this, you get exactly what you expect. You go into it expecting it to be a pretty rough around the edges experience that might have some good ideas buried under a lack of production value at best. That’s not what you get here, though. I wouldn’t say it’s some sort of BandCamp miracle like Twin Fantasy or something, but this is definitely one of the most complete sounding records I’ve ever heard on Soundcloud. This thing really does have the clarity and ambition you’d expect from a bigger name artist. I mean seriously, I’ve heard plenty of commercial releases produced (and written) a fraction as well as this (the latest from Asking Alexandria and Baroness come to mind). The compositional ambition, production quality and the overall sense of completeness I get from this project is so far beyond what any Soundcloud release like this has any right to be.

I think the main things that really roped me in with this project boil down to the diverse melting pot of influences and the scope of the songwriting that really elevate it above other records in it’s style. From start to finish this album perfectly straddles a line between keeping things simple and spicing things up with sprawling musical concepts. On one hand, it’s got a straightforward charm to it that makes it fairly digestible and (for lack of a better term) plain in all the right ways. One one hand, the shimmery guitar chord voicings and the Charlie’s smooth (yet reverb soaked) vocals make for predictable constants that keep the album sounding familiar in all the right ways. It’s the way those foundational building blocks are stacked on top of eachother that make this really memorable to me. Taking a song like Alone Together for example, you get 4 minutes of music that just jam packs it’s 4 minute runtime with so many different ideas. It starts off with a funky and jammable little groove, but morphs and evolves through winding guitar solos, Dream Pop choruses, expansive Synth melodies, a dynamic outro climax and even a break with some seagull samples. It’s the kind of song that feels really straightforward (in the right ways) while it’s on, but as soon as it ends you’re just left saying to yourself “Whoa, that was only four minutes?”

Despite all the fairly progressive passages and various ideas that drive this album at its core, the thing never once falters in terms of bringing an immersive sense of atmosphere to the table. Whether it’s at its most intense or most relaxed moments, this record always continues to wash over you like an ocean tide slowly reeling itself back in. It’s got such a bright and vibrant sound that it meshes with some ever so slightly melancholic vibes to make a record that’s just so peaceful and calming. That consistent atmosphere is maintained so well due to the musicianship behind all of the compositional parts here. Every instrument is played, all by Charlie, extremely well. The rhythm section does it’s job beautifully between consistent, never overbearing drums and memorable bass lines like the one on Life on the Ground. The guitarwork is definitely the real star of the show, with Charlie’s chord choice being nothing short of exquisite and the occasional guitar solo really managing to wow me. As a guitarist I’d say one of the things in Indie music that I find doesn’t often impress me is the genre’s guitar work. There are obvious exceptions to that of course, but I still find that so many Indie Pop/Rock guitarists are just incredibly predictable. Despite never doing anything flashy, Charlie absolutely does not fall into that hole whatsoever. He completely understands the idea of three good sounding notes being twice as valuable as thirty decent ones. He makes every strum count for as much as it can possibly be worth with articulate and emotive playing that keeps me coming back. Combining that guitar work with plenty of immersive and ambient synth melodies and you get a winning sound that will wind up being stuck in your head all day.

Now part of the reason that I don’t often review small, relatively obscure stuff like this is because I don’t ever want to write a review where I give somebody bonus points for not having access to a big name label. I don’t want to just give a 6/10 album an 8/10 because it’s from a small artist, as I’m sure we all know that it’s very easy to get hyped on a gem of an artist you just discovered. That being said, if I ever wind up reviewing something as small as this it’s because I genuinely think that it is just as worthy of people’s attention as whatever other big name stuff I’m writing about. Charlie Gamache’s debut LP 100% falls into that jurisdiction.

However, like I said, I will always hold every record I review to the same standard - whether it has 20 plays or 20 million. When it comes to critiques I’ve got for this, I didn’t find much wrong within the actual songs themselves, but more so in regards to the structuring of the record and how it flows as a cohesive experience. There isn’t a single song on here that I even slightly disliked, with all of them being extremely fun, catchy and well put together. The structure of the album is far from bad as well, as it gets things right in the cases of keeping things tied together in a unified way and not straying far enough away from it’s core sound that it breaks immersion. However, I definitely think that the first two interlude tracks on the record are some moments that kind of broke up the experience in unnecessary ways. They both sound really cool, but the way they flow in and out of the surrounding tracks left me being very wary of both the downtime and abrupt changes in sound. The third interlude cut Evanescence is a perfect example of how to do this idea correctly with the well integrated phone call samples and fitting instrumentation, but the first two transitionary pieces stick out like sore thumbs at the start and finish. The first song on the album, aptly titled The First Song is easily the worst offender too, as while it sounds very pleasant it definitely felt kind of unnecessary - thankfully the energy is immediately picked back up by my favorite song on the record. I really think the only thing that would have made this a more enjoyable experience for me would be to implement more conceptual and musical flow.

At the time of my writing this, this album has around 20 plays per song - and yet my only real critique is that the two smallest and most insignificant tracks left me underwhelmed. If that’s not a sign that this is totally worth your attention, I’m not sure what could be. I seriously never use Soundcloud for anything at all other than uploading the occasional song of my own, entirely for the purpose of letting my other musical friends listen and give me their feedback. I’ve always specifically avoided reviewing music that wasn’t on major streaming services for honestly arbitrary reasons, but this was a solid enough experience that I decided to make an exception. It does obviously have some minor signs where you can easily tell that it wasn’t put out on Atlantic Records and won’t be played on your local Pop station, but it doesn’t detract from the experience. The songs here are just so well written that I couldn’t care less if they were recorded on a potato or on a $50,000 Mac Pro with the fancy wheels on the bottom. If you’re even remotely into artists like Tame Impala, Grouplove, or even something like Death Cab for Cutie I highly recommend checking this one out. Charlie Gamache’s Lemon Grass is such a blissful, air and well-penned little record that I would’ve never believed it wasn’t released on a major label unless I saw the numbers first. Despite just being a small Soundcloud release, this one’s got so many fantastic tracks it can easily go up to bat with the big boys. Go check this out now so that when the guy is playing stadiums you can say you were there at the start. - 8.2/10 (Best Songs - Feed Your Mind, Alone Together, Hold On For Me)