Charlie Houston - I Hate Spring [EP]

Label

Arts & Crafts

“Her debut EP I Hate Spring casts back to timeless memories of fumbling early romance—first kisses, messy breakups, and short-lived flirtations are all soundtracked by weightless indie pop and R&B stylings.” – Under The Radar

“It’s a striking debut, an unguarded, ultra-personal tapestry—stories of heartbreak and struggle, sung in her soothing, signature voice.” – SPIN

“‘Things’ is an unadulterated look at youthful insecurities and unrequited affection. Over a somber but punchy backdrop, she delivers an evocative performance that is ripe with honesty.” – EARMILK

“Charlie Houston’s bouncy contemporary R&B-inflected pop straightforwardly addresses the meaningful mundanities of Gen Z life.” – Bandcamp “New and Notable”

Today, 20-year old genre-bending artist Charlie Houston offers another glimpse into her realtime coming of age story with a 16mm video by Tranquilo for her raw new track “Things (Acoustic)”. Her woozy, nonchalant delivery lilts like smoke filling a room, stripped down over soft guitar riffs as he muses on youthful insecurities, unrequited love, and when infatuation causes you to lose sight of yourself. Houston’s anticipated debut I Hate Spring EP is out this Friday on Arts & Crafts, an emotional time capsule, Houston’s introspection is deep and sincere. This evident vulnerability on lead single “Calls” stirred critical acclaim spanning NPR “New Music Friday”, Under The Radar, SPIN, EARMILK, Ones To Watch #NowWatching, Uproxx, Consequence, and more. Fans can also watch Charlie perform and discuss her debut release on CBC Music’s ‘The Intro’.

Houston’s lush ectronic production shares similarities to the indie-pop of BENEE and Gus Dapperton while her breathy, androgynous vocals evoke the captivating immediacy of contemporaries, Empress Of, King Princess, Faye Webster and Charlotte Day Wilson. “Calls” debuted with Zane Lowe on his Apple Music 1 show and continues to climb many playlists including Spotify “New Music Friday” “Singled Out” “Fresh & Chill” “indie pop & chill” + Apple Music “Unwind” “Indie Pop” “Pop Chill” and “Wildflower”.

Throughout the collection, Charlie bravely bares her personal struggles such as mental health issues, romantic heartbreak, first kisses and discovering the fluidity of her sexual identity along the way. Working with producer Chris Yonge, I Hate Spring features five downtempo pop tracks infusing progressive electronic sounds with raw, melodic guitar and pop-R&B vocals. The poetic lyrics intentionally do not include pronouns because the beautifully crafted stories are authentically relatable to any listener.