Charles Connolly

Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 (𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙮) – 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙤 𝙃𝙞𝙡𝙡

Charles is only pretending…

It’s been a while since I wrote about love here. Used to do it all the time. Writing, I mean. And it’s always tricky. Well actually, it wasn’t ALWAYS tricky. At the beginning it was quite easy, because it was new. But after a while, there is little more I can say on the matter. Admittedly, most of you will either not remember my earlier articles, or will not yet have joined the New Artist Spotlight community at the time they were published. Shall I just rehash one of my old ones, then? I mean, that’s what everyone else does these days, right? The thing is, I don’t like doing that. I never do that. I never do that with anything. Newness is “like my thang”. The funny thing is, we do it in songs all the time; this love-ad-nauseam doohickey. Admittedly less so these days as I think young people have been too anxious to learn how to love. Probably far too much like hard work. Okay, so I won’t concentrate on the very young ones (as if I ever did). Do we maybe just take love for granted? It’s a big old thing, don’t ya know. Love, I mean. We’ve all heard the stories. We’ve all been through it. It’s either beautiful and tragic. Or starts one way and ends the other. Actually, usually. “She’s the one” – how many times have I told myself that?? We so desperately want THAT one to be THE one. We all want the happily ever after. Some genuinely get that. Lucky sods. But more often than not, it just ain’t the way. Bit of a bugger, if you ask me.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙄𝙨 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙏𝙤𝙤 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨! – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙮 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩

Charles finds his soul…

Every ten years a decade passes. Every decade brings change. Some decades more than others. Good change, bad change and arguable change, but change nevertheless. While there are many different kinds of change, I will not focus on forced change, such as war, for war is not worth talking about. I prefer the lighter side of life. So… In the last century, which decade has brought the most change? Again, excluding those where war has been the changing factor. I can only really talk about the Western World here, as that is all I am really familiar with. Which has been the most changing decade? Some might say the noughties (00s) due to the rise of the internet. It certainly did change the world; there’s no doubt in that. Some would say the 60s because, THE SIXTIES!! I mean, just EVERYTHING changed, right? Well I can’t argue that it was a revolutionary decade. But more so for the young. The older ones were still living part two of the 50s. How about the 80s, then? With its big hair and technological advancements? Well it certainly wasn’t like anything before. And then there’s the 20s. These 20s, rather than those 20s. The 2020s. The now. BIG change. The problem is, it feels like all this current change is negative change. Which, like war, is not worth talking about. For me, the answer is…….. The 70s. The change didn’t feel as forced or rebellious as the 60s. The change didn’t affect just the young. And seemingly pretty much every aspect changed, almost by the year.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙇𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙁𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles errs on the side of c̶a̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ daring for 101…

Books. Remember them? Ya know: paper and that. Woyds an’ ting. I’m sure you’ve at least SEEN them. Garish on the outside, hollow on the inside. That is, until you start reading. Then that loud cover becomes sterile and plastic as the words come together to form a brave new world of yours. I am not however going to talk about Aldous Huxley, but someone of a similar ilk. I am going to speak about the most chilling and horrifyingly astounding book I have ever read. And I guarantee you have heard of it. It goes by the name of Nineteen Eighty-Four. The year I was born, but written many moons before said year, in 1949 (the year my mother was born). I am a squeamish person when it comes to film, but rarely with the written word. This book was one HUGE exception. I won’t go into the theme, as you already know it (damned well SHOULD know it anyway). However, there is a scene that takes place in the Ministry of Love (oh, the irony). Following my 100th review, what better time to mention Room 101 – some of you might be quite familiar with its meaning these days. It is a torture chamber for those who have “done wrong”. Or at least what is considered wrong by the “Party”… A place of your personal worst nightmares. Think Nazism meets extreme communism meets sadism – not a nice place, basically. They decide what is right and what is wrong, and should you choose to disagree or go against any of that, you will pay severely. In reality, it would surely be your duty to escape from a prison camp, no? You would see it as the only option, but THEY would see it as “against the rules”, and so must be punished should you even attempt such a thing.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙏𝙤 𝘿𝙖𝙮 – 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝘿𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨

Charles catches the sun and puts it in his pocket…

The sun is a wondrous thing. It shines bright from behind the blue. It both creates and eradicates shadow, turning dark into light, and light into darker. Leaves and yolk-filled petals bask, as we burn and cower. Said scented blooms will turn in synchronisation with its beam, always to be head-to-head with the god of the sky. Those of us who do wish to confront its rays will do so with a youthful pride. Head held high, arms glistening with salty beads. What is it about these golden rays that makes us smile? A simple thing of brightness and warmth. Can it be as simple as that? Could it be the Vitamin D that our bodies make, much like a human equivalent of photosynthesis…? It is more powerful than chemistry, surely. We have learnt of solar power relatively recently, but have felt it within ourselves for millennia. This is where nature competes and wins every time. Everyone benefits. Well, almost everyone. Farmers with their droughts, skin cancer sufferers, people whose land regularly deals with forest fires, even little freckle-faced Billy who can’t go out to play because of his sensitive skin… There are negatives. Oh and then there’s the big old climate change stuff… But on the whole, The sun is a wondrous thing.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨 – 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙬𝙧𝙮

Charles gives you the genuine article…

You’re probably assuming I am going to blether on about dreams, gradually segueing into nightmares. But I will do no such thing. Not even going to touch on the subject.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙣’ .2 – 𝘼𝙡𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙤 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙞, 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨

Charles shows good sportsmanship.

A couple of days ago, there was a game of football. Or soccer, if you prefer. One team wearing white, the other, blue. I rooted for white. Sometimes, things just don’t go to plan. They did however for the blues. I am not a football fan, but this was one of the few times when an Englishman is allowed to be patriotic. It is seen as okay. The way to be. The thing to do. The hopes were high, but eventually, after much sweaty tension, the feeling was low. A big shame. But someone has to win, and someone has to, well, come second. It has always been the way. 22 men fought like brave soldiers; courageous yet civil and respectful. My only real CONCERN about England coming in ‘second place’, was the possible aftermath. English football fans have something of a reputation for acting, shall we say, a little less gentlemanly than they maybe should. Which is why I am of the opinion that “if you can’t beat ‘em, join em’”. Not the fans, but the winners. Let’s all come together and celebrate a joyous occasion. Not as joyous as one would have hoped, of course, but let’s simply take part in the festivities and good vibes, rather than turning the good vibes to bad. Let us enjoy and revel in the good times we’ve had over the weeks, and just understand that the result of a game of football must not be taken as a personal attack, but simply an outcome that had to go either way.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙤 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 – 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙠𝙞

Charles is the cat with one eye open…

Let’s clear this up, once and for all. Last week’s review. I received a barrage of messages, comments and posts about it, from the people who didn’t quite understand. I was informed that I had linked to the wrong song multiple times. That no matter how much they searched, they couldn’t find the song “Polar Foil”… On the flip-side, I had people telling me how much they liked the song… Lord knows how they heard it… Despite most of these confused people realising it was posted on April 1st, it still didn’t quite click for some. Every single part of the article was made up. There is no such song as Polar Foil. There is no such Amazon product as Polar Foil. There is no block of ice that melts in the form of a cold hourglass. Both Polar Foil and Lila Proof are anagrams of April Fool. And Lila’s single released next month was called Yam because it’s an anagram of May (next month’s month). The cat’s out of the bag. Some of you may think it a shame that I have now “explained the joke”. I know one artist who REALLY can’t stand that. But I thought it necessary for those who felt perhaps uncomfortably incomplete, or “left out of the loop”. The thing is, this was entirely my own imagination. A vivid imagination that is so natural to me that I almost started believing it. In fact, there were times when I truly forgot, and went to my phone to listen to ”again” to the track – quickly remembering (rather embarrassingly) that it never existed. I gather many of you were also a little let down as you really wanted to listen to it. It sounded like it might have been amazing, I admit. The thing is, you can still do this. Close your eyes and do what I did. Imagine. Make the piece of music in your head, based on what you’ve read. Imagination is an incredible thing. And I do believe that if your mind is free from worry, and if you allow yourself, imagination is literally limitless. It’s a conscious dream.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙤 𝙋𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 – 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

Charles thinks of others this Christmas…

So! I thought I’d break with tradition. Which is very unlike me. Next Tuesday is Christmas Eve, and I will not be posting any reviews over the festive period. This gives me time to enjoy the festivities. But more importantly, it gives YOU time to do the same. I don’t want to spoil that for anyone by giving you the chore of reading whatever I might have chosen to natter about. What this means is, this is my last review of 2024. So far, this is no break from tradition. I always pause for a week or two over this season – remember, I’ve been doing these reviews since 2020…! Every year I make a point of writing a fun festive review just before Christmas. Here’s where the break with tradition comes in to play. There will be no holly, no tinsel, no elves, no glitter, no glamour, no baubles, no Santa, no reds, no whites, and no pinks. But plenty of blues. You see, the meaning of Christmas has changed over the years. It has become strangely sterile and commercial. We hunker down to a cosy time with the family, if possible. It was never supposed to be a time of gluttony and of excess. It was supposed to be a time of celebration in being grateful for what we have. A time to think about those less fortunate. Those who cannot revel in said festivities. Those going through the toughest of times. As the Christmas carol goes: In the Bleak Midwinter…

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮’𝙨 𝙇𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 – 𝘼𝙫𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙖

Charles is in a similar boat…

Who remembers a British band from the 90s called Republica? Those who do, what’s the song that springs to mind…? Is it “Ready to Go”? Here’s the chorus: “It’s a crack, I’m back, yeah I’m standing on the rooftops shouting out. Baby, I’m ready to go”. That’s me right now. I’m standing on the rooftops shouting out. Baby, I’m ready to go! Yep, it’s that time of the week where I please some and bore others. Woo-hoo! I’m ready to go. Not ready to leave, you understand. Ach, and some of you got your hopes up. Well, tough. Baby, I’m ready to stay. But despite my hoarse vocal cords from that echoing decibelage, I’m wondering if I’m being acknowledged, or even noticed… Every week I write about this or that, and sometimes even the other. But I wonder, if I were to copy and paste a great big chunk of the Oxford English Dictionary instead, how many would actually notice…? Would the comments still read “good song good review keep up the good work cant wait for the next one emoticon emoticon”? Possibly. Probably. Definitely. The internet’s a funny place, after all. I won’t be copying a chunk of the Oxford English Dictionary, though, as I’m not a fan of alphabet soup. These pieces go out to potentially every single living person on this Earth. The same goes for our music… Every single person can read these peculiar articles of mine for free. Every single person can listen to our music for free. Yet, most do not. I can’t understand why. Is it all terrible? Is it really all that bad?? Of course not. The real reason is that nobody knows. But the more important reason is that nobody cares. Why WOULD you?? Some random bloke on the internet writes about music and other random junk. Some unknown artist releases yet another song. Pah.

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Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.

𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 – 𝙏𝙤𝙙𝙙 & 𝙆𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣

Charles stares at the sun…

The wait is over. It finally happened. We hoped, we prayed. We were ready for disappointment. But we always quietly had our fingers crossed. What it is is, Summer. England is not known for sun. Not to foreigners. It is known for miserable rain (as opposed to lighthearted upbeat rain), despite not really having that much rain these days. Well, of course I speak only of London, for that is all I know. I’m sure up north is as grim as ever. But then again, maybe I’m doing what the foreigners do. Assuming, due to what people say. Maybe I’m wrong. Let’s check. Today in London it’s sunny and 26 degrees. Huh! Turns out it’s exactly the same up north! So there ya go. Completely wrong, due to my assumption, based on very little. What’s that sound…? Sounds like a chuckle… It seems to be coming from the southern states of the Ewe Ess of Aye. Now look, I know 26 degrees is not a great deal to you lot – positively chilly, no doubt! But we in mainland Europe don’t live on the edge of a desert (or even indeed in the middle of one). Besides, it did reach 30 over the weekend in London. Which was enough to make me feel very heavy indeed. But good lord, I enjoyed it. We Britonians never know what we’re going to get. Could be chilly and wet and windy. Could be dangerously high temperatures with sun so strong it looks more like Arizona than Hyde Park. Grass bleached to dust. But despite all the worry and concern over climate change, we English always hope to get burnt fast. It is terribly childish and incredibly unsophisticated (not to mention downright stupid), I will admit. But it is the English way. Quick! Sun’s out! Flip-flops at the ready! Let that proud belly hang, flop and wobble to the beat of one’s own personal step. I’m too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, too sexy it hurts. I mean, it HURTS! It is painful to look at. But, this is the nature of these people. To get toasted, and not give a tan about what others will have to look at. One might say they are blinded by the sun… I’m not really selling the place, am I… The good thing is, God invented sunglasses. And if you get ones dark enough (you know, those ones more suitable for viewing a rare solar eclipse) you won’t have to see all this ghastly stuff. Then you can concentrate on your OWN tan (and on not walking into lampposts or passing cars – no matter how amusing this might be to the other bellies).

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