The path that led to their first full-length record, Guppy, was anything but straightforward. As the story goes, the band officially started when frontwoman Eva Hendricks and guitarist Spencer Fox, both just 15, crossed paths at a Tokyo Police Club show in New York City, but the ties within the band go much deeper than that. “It’s kind of insane and hilarious,” says Eva, “Sam is my older brother, so obviously we’ve known each other our whole lives, but all of us have been connected to each other since we were little kids. Dan Shure and I dated when we were in our early teens and he and Spencer went to summer camp together. Dan and I broke up years ago, but eventually he’ d become our bass player. The reason we all get along so well has to do with the fact we share this ridiculous history. We are all deeply embedded in each other’s lives.”
After spending years playing shows in and around New York City, the band eventually released an EP (2014’s Soft Serve) and scored opening gigs for the likes of Glass Animals, Darwin Deez, Tokyo Police Club, Sleater-Kinney, as well as a touring spot for their own musical forebears, Veruca Salt. Even though the band had amassed a sizable fanbase and a reputation as a truly formidable live act, the goal of making a full-length record proved to be a fraught series of false-starts. Given their propensity for making hooky, ebullient pop songs, the band often felt out of step with what was happening around them in Brooklyn. (“We weren’t weird in the right ways,” says Sam). They eventually set about recording an album on their own—and then recording it twice—before figuring out what had been staring them in the face the entire time. “We basically had to come to terms with the fact that we are, at heart, a pop band,” recalls Spencer. “Before, it was always trying to decide which of the songs would be more ‘rock’ and which would be more poppy, but we eventually realized we needed to meet in the middle, we had to create an ecosystem where our loud, messy rock sounds could co-exist with these super catchy melodies and pop hooks. It was really about realizing what we’re best at as a band.”
The ten tracks that make up Guppy, Charly Bliss’ sparkling full-length debut, show the band embracing all of their strengths—a combination of ripping guitars and irrepressible pop hooks, all delivered with the hyper-enthusiasm of a middle school cafeteria food fight. That every track is loaded front-to-back with sing/shout-worthy lyrics and earworm melodies is a testament to the band's commitment to the art form of pop songwriting. Opening track “Percolator” sets the tone—all power riffs and yo-yo-ing melodies playing against Hendricks’ acrobatic vocals, which veer from gentle coo to an emphatic squeal:
I’m gonna die in the getaway car! I would try but it sounds too hard! It's a vibe that carries throughout Guppy, a record that shares an undeniable kinship with 90’s alt-rockers like Letters to Cleo and That Dog—bands that balanced melodicism, sugary vocals, and overdriven guitar turned up to 11. It’s an aesthetic that Charly Bliss both embraces and improves upon in tracks like “Ruby” (“We actually wrote the guitar solo by sitting in a circle and passing the guitar around, each of us adding our own notes,” says Fox) and “Glitter”, the record’s first single. “I wanted to make a song about being romantically involved with someone who makes you kind of hate yourself because they are so much like you,” says Hendricks, “A fun song about complicated self-loathing that you could also dance around your bedroom to—that kind of sums us up as a band, actually.”
“Pop music can actually be very subversive,” she continues. “The lyrics that I'm most proud of on the record are me existing both in and out of this overgrown teenybopper feeling—feeling like everything I was going through was the most extreme thing that had ever happened to anyone ever. The songs are often about being totally in the throes of this stuff, but also being able to step out of it and make fun of myself. It’s possible to write songs that really get at all of these dark feelings while also just being really fun to sing and dance to. You can be serious and also sing about peeing while jumping on a trampoline.”
Guppy is a record that doesn’t so much seek to reinvent the pop wheel so much as gleefully refine it. “People forget sometimes that expressing joy is just as important as examining despair,” says Shure. “People need joy, especially right now. We’re all about writing tight pop songs, but also giving people this super enthusiastic release. These songs are kind of the sound of expressing something that you can’t really contain. These are songs you play really loudly when you need to freak out.”
CHARLY BLISS IS
EVA HENDRICKS,
SAM HENDRICKS,
SPENCER FOX,
DAN SHURE
Ruby
Charly Bliss Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Digging a hole in the Michigan sleeve
Find me barely alive
Too stupid to stay and too freaked out to drive
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
Keep me afloat on call
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Guardrail, taking the stairs
Passed out on the subway with blood in my hair
I guess I need a ride
I'll check with my boyfriend and see if it's fine
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
Keep me afloat on call
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Maybe I've gone too far
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
Keep me afloat on call
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Maybe I've gone too, maybe I've gone too
Maybe I've gone too far
In the Charly Bliss's song Ruby, the singer is admitting to her own vulnerability and recklessness. The lyrics suggest that she has been digging herself into a hole emotionally and maybe even has a bit of a substance abuse problem. The first two lines, "Six weeks better than me, digging a hole in the Michigan sleeve," suggest that someone else has been handling things better than she has, and that she has been digging deeper and deeper into a difficult situation. She then admits that she is "too stupid to stay and too freaked out to drive," suggesting that she can't even take care of herself properly.
The chorus repeats the phrase "ditch me, gone to see Ruby" multiple times, which could suggest that Ruby is a friend or a mentor who helps the singer remain emotionally stable. The singer seems to know that Ruby is "pro" (professional) and capable of helping her, but is still unsure if she has gone too far in her own destructive behavior. The second verse highlights how the singer has put herself in dangerous situations, passing out on the subway with blood in her hair. She then suggests that she needs a ride and will ask her boyfriend for help.
Overall, the song hints at the singer's deep-seated insecurities and struggles with addiction. Ruby seems to represent a lifeline for the singer, someone who can help keep her afloat when she feels like she is drowning. However, at the same time, the singer acknowledges that she has likely gone too far, and may not be able to help herself without more drastic measures being taken.
Line by Line Meaning
Six weeks better than me
She's been doing better than me for six weeks now
Digging a hole in the Michigan sleeve
She's been struggling and feeling stuck in a difficult situation
Find me barely alive
She feels like she's barely holding on and struggling to survive
Too stupid to stay and too freaked out to drive
She's in a state of anxiety and feels trapped, unable to make a decision or move forward
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
She's turning to a friend, Ruby, for help and support
Keep me afloat on call
She needs someone to be there for her and help her through her difficulties
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Ruby is experienced and confident, while she's not completely helpless
Maybe I've gone too far
She's not sure if she's asking too much of Ruby and fears being a burden
Guardrail, taking the stairs
She's risking danger and taking the hard route
Passed out on the subway with blood in my hair
She's hit rock bottom and feels completely helpless
I guess I need a ride
She's admitting that she can't do this on her own and needs help
I'll check with my boyfriend and see if it's fine
She's seeking permission and approval from her boyfriend before accepting help from Ruby
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Eva Hendricks, Spencer Fox, Sam Hendricks, Dan Shure
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bengordon4920
Six weeks better than me
Digging a hole in the Michigan sleeve
Find me barely alive
Too stupid to stay and too freaked out to drive
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
Keep me afloat on call
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Maybe I've gone too far
Guardrail, taking the stairs
Passed out on the subway with blood in my hair
I guess I need a ride
I'll check with my boyfriend and see if it's fine
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
Keep me afloat on call
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Maybe I've gone too far
Ditch me, gone to see Ruby
Keep me afloat on call
She's pro, I'm not that bad though
Maybe I've gone too, maybe I've gone too, maybe I've gone too far
@iwillnevergetone5
Also, whoever mixed this track did fucking fantastic job getting the vocals to cut through//sit so nicely on top of the thick guitars.
Hopefully the full album sounds this great!!
@Bingus_Bangus
youre just going thru the public radio stuff huh
@AntiChangeling
Ironically, this song got completely re-recorded and remixed on the full album. Sounds even better IMO, although the vocals aren't quite as clear as this mix.
@startervisions
Listen to The Breeders "Safari" it's a Steve Albini thing :)
@iwillnevergetone5
@@AntiChangeling yea the album version is noticeably different. i like the magic of this one here
@216trixie
I'm sorry that these helium vocals were recorded at all.
@oysta
AWESOME. I can feel the grunge rising up my spine
@wolfgang6442
Same too😅🔥
@trilliamc5185
Such a golden iconic song. Definitely underrated song. The vocals are so good
@barnatt
I love this song!