"Idontjustwanabeyourfriend" - a review

I don’t just wana be your friend: Rae Charlea

Rae Charlea is a wonderful Scottish-Australian artist who is carving her way into the music industry flawlessly, she is certainly a name to rival some bigger bands in the indie scene currently. Her music dabbles between grungy, indie-rock and alternative – while listening to her newest track

“Idontjustwanabeyourfriend” I couldn’t help but think of the Arctic Monkeys, specifically songs like “”I just wanna be yours”. Charlea has also been compared to artists like Sam Fender or The Cure.

I really love this new track, the first thing that stood out to me was the bass in the opening. It sets up the whole song beautifully, and it’s where the first AM comparison came to mind. Rae Charlea’s voice is so beautiful, it reminds me a lot of Lily Allen. This is one of the first notes I had scribbled down, just “gorge. Allen” in my scraggly handwriting.

The chorus is so catchy, and frankly I have had it stuck in my head since my first listen. the repetitiveness of it doesn’t get boring like a lot of choruses do, just makes sure it sticks with you.

The whole tempo/pace of the song is really good. I don’t know how to verbalize it, but it just feels so right for the song? I’m no artist myself so I don’t know any fancy terminology outside of “tempo” so ill assume that’s the word im trying to find.

The drum break/bridge sounds phenomenal too, it just fits in such a fantastic way. I loved the end section of the song, the increasingly chaotic energy as rocky screams are thrown into the mix just add up so well. It solidifies the tone of the song, the aching to feel something more with a person you swore you felt a spark with, the melancholy of realizing it might have been a one off…very specific emotion Charlea has managed to capture.

Overall, I think why I love this tune so much is because this genre is a very male dominated field, and its just so nice finding a female artist in general let alone one with the talent Charlea carries - and if I do say so myself shes doing a much better job than a lot of the famous male indie-rock bands out there.

If this review just allows one more person to listen to this great track, I will be more than happy, its for sure one to have on repeat. I for one cannot wait to see what the has planned next, and to catch her at a gig.

Cheers,

Eloise x