Today sees the arrival of “Where The Bell Tolls Free” the long awaited second album from Charles Boulevard. The band formed in 2020 with members from the Czech Republic and Ireland have been greatly encouraged to follow up on the success of their debut album “Rendez-Vous!” in 2021.
“Where The Bell Tolls Free” is a collection of 15 new songs that build on the eclectic sounds of “Rendez-Vous!” and marks a further evolution in their sonic palette.
“Where The Bell Tolls Free” is a curious mixture of classic 60’s pop/rock and harder elements of 70’s rock. However the introduction of 6 string bass infuses the sound with a new wave swagger which makes the music fresh and engaging. Tracks like “Steal My Fire” and “White Water” being a case in point. Also the introduction of steel guitar opens up the soundscape to those dreamy spaces on tracks such as “Find My Pride” and “Dream Number 19”. The trademark sound of 12 string electric guitar is still there on beautiful slices of 60’s inspired pop/rock like “Out of This World” and “Greenwich Mean Time” which are offset by the exuberance of outstanding rockers such as “Do As The Romans” and “Say Amen”.
As lead singer and guitarist Pavel Holada explains “We wanted to keep the quality and move the sound forward, brining some new instruments, to add some extra colours. I learned to play steel guitar which was a bit of a challenge”.
A challenge it may have been but it works beautifully throughout the record on tracks such as “Moped Dream”. Pavel adds “Berny PB brought some additional percussion and even a jaw harp, which worked nicely. And singing with Dermot and Berny we arranged the vocal harmonies which was a lot of fun and a big part of the creative process.” Lyricist Dermot Condron adds “Writing the songs was as enjoyable and rewarding as the first record. We brought our stories to the table, stories we heard, or stories we lived, there is always a story to tell”.
Charles Boulevard’s new album “Where The Bell Tolls Free” is now available on all digital platforms.
