It may seem anomalous to some folks, but in Portland, the sound of the mid-90s British shoegazer movement is alive and well. For those unaware of what I'm referring to, the bands given this appellation (Ride, Slowdive, Chapterhouse) were known for their dreamy pop music codified by the effect-heavy sound of their guitars. The title comes both from their less than dynamic stage presence and the guitar players' tendencies to stare at the ground to make sure they were hitting the right combo of pedals for any given song.
At any rate, not only does Portland host an annual event called (appropriately enough) "The Shoegazers' Ball", but there are plenty of bands lining up to grace the stage at said event. One such group is the quartet known to the world as Charmparticles.
Since forming in 2002, Adam Wayne (guitar/vocals), Pamela Rooney (bass/vocals), Sarah FitzGerald (bass), and Nathanael Merrill (drums) have been drawing people to their warm, lush and washed out pop sound. Much like the quarks that give the group its name, according to Rooney. "Apparently these are the 4th quarks of the standard model and are so attractive to other particles that they were given the name 'charm'. We just thought it was cool sounding thing and hinted a bit at our geeky nature."
As is evident when hearing the band and hearing how adept they are at crafting a song and wrenching as much passion as possible out of their instruments, each member of the group has a fine resume of playing in groups in and around the Northwest. Rooney and Wayne met first playing in the band Drive who quickly gained a loyal following in Portland and Eugene. Wayne also spent time as a member of the Bella Fayes. Merrill had previously been in a band with two members of Menomena.
The four have only released two EPs to date but both have more weight than most groups' 70 minute full-length albums. Each song is like being wrapped in a warm embrace of a wine buzz or an ecstasy binge quite akin to the bands that they consider influences (for example the three listed in the first paragraph of this article).
Although they admit those influences, Rooney says that their sound was not planned out in that way. "I don't think we were consciously going for anything in particular. We all love the delay/reverb/ride [cymbal]/wash, and it's just the way it turned out. If people think it sounds like shoegazer, so be it. I can definitely see why they say it and I take it as a compliment, but it can be a bit limiting." She also admits that there is probably going to change by the time you see them next. “I think our sound is currently undergoing a bit of a reconstruction, so it may be a less likely comparison in the future."
What is in the band's future is a full-length album once the band can find the time to get together. "We'll definitely be doing more recording soon. We've got the equipment, and we've been pasting ideas for a new album together for a while. Sarah is traveling almost all of next month, and Nate is almost done with school. I think we're planning to lock ourselves in our awesome practice space after the New Year and not come out until we have something we're completely stoked on."
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