The Charlottes. Lovehappy.

One of the earliest shoegaze bands, The Charlottes had a harder edge than their billowy pals, My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive, though they never achieved the same levels of success. I think at the time they were regarded more like The Primitives, but it's hard to tell. They fell into that twee-band-with-a-distortion-pedal period that's just on the verge of the prime shoegaze years. It may just encompass this record, actually. They're much tighter than their shambolic forebears, each song a little candy sweetart. It's a short album—barely half an hour—but they managed to get the whole thing just right.

In other unbearably twee news, today is our eighteen year anniversary (my girlfriend and me, not this blog, obviously). So, if you're reading this, my dear Candy-O, I love you.

Lovehappy