The best part of being in a band, says singer/songwriter Jendayi Bonds, is watching a song come to life. The same can be said of watching her band, pop duo Charlie Belle, start on the steep ascent to stardom. Jendayi and her brother Gyasi trained as musicians starting very young (Gyasi was on drums at four, Jendayi on guitar at seven), graduated from Schools of Rock in Philadelphia and Austin and caught national attention in 2011 with a slumber-party Magnetic Fields cover. They've since released one EP, Get To Know, and are set to release their next, I Don't Want To Be Alone, on Sept. 18. We're premiering the title track here.
Like Charlie Belle's previous releases, "I Don't Want To Be Alone" is an infectious, Brit-flavored indie pop confection carried by clean, sharp percussion, crystal-clear vocals and infectious lyrics. Jendayi's songwriting conveys both youth and jadedness, which her voice echoes. She captures adolescent relationships in many facets, all of which are relatable, but the music she and Gyasi play is only traceable to their youth by its unflappable energy. Of the inspiration for this song, she writes in an email:
"I Don't Want To Be Alone" isn't about being hung up on someone that treats you like crap. I wrote it as an empowerment piece. It's about a girl who knows she's seeing a loser, but she sees him anyway because she finds his disposition charming, and she's decided that she's alright with that.
Charlie Belle's I Don't Want To Be Alone EP comes out September 18 on Fanatic Records.
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