The Singles Bar: Charlie Harris feels the burn of space with ‘MoonBounce’
Electro-pop newcomer draws upon his experience from his studies of space for his debut single.
Welcome to The Singles Bar, a review series focused on new single and song releases.
The web of celestial orbs hanging as icicles in the night sky has long been of great fascination to the human race. It’s an inborn, carnivorous desire to explore the expansive, beautiful and sometimes enticingly dangerous landscape around us. Over time, humans have mounted expeditions across various mountain ridges, swampy marshlands and parched desert wastelands, and when technological advances permitted, we’ve then turned our attention to the stratospheres stretching millions of light years beyond our tangible boundaries. Having studied space and science in Washington, DC, electro-pop storm-chaser Charlie Harris draws upon such mystique for his debut single, “MoonBounce,” a celebratory moment for the now NYC-wayward purveyor.
“Welcome to the ride / Pick your favorite sign / You were a wild child / You were blessed with a child’s smile / Imagine how greatly you can elevate safely,” he takes off almost immediately, emitting gaseous expulsions on his climb through swirling clouds of synths. Asteroid-like pings and tings echo across the star-dripping backdrop, and Harris tears his way through each fluffy layer, allowing himself to be absorbed into the fabric of fleeting time. “Living in a brand new mindset / Reality is changed / But the light is still the same / And it’s driving you crazy,” he observes once his body breaks and bends as light through a prism.
It’s a marvel, really, to see such promise vibrating with a metallic, futuristic and post-apocalyptic aesthetic (think Daft Punk and deadmau5), yet also culling definitive ’80s-rock touch points. But Harris, whose daring career move into music instead of away, erupts in much the same was an internal combustion engine ⏤ with lingering traces of his heart thickening into stars and other glass fixtures of their very own. The over four-minute runtime also permits the singer and songwriter to feel the high of the synths and organ humming gently underneath him and supplies the icy theatrics with a sinister, southern gothic tone.
“MoonBounce” anchors Harris’ upcoming EP, expected this summer.
Listen below:
