Brand new EP from Mr. Charisma

Mr. Charisma is a musical project built on the longstanding friendship and creative synergy of musicians Daniel Austin and Chris Hatfield. Though they’ve previously cut their teeth in other endeavours, Mr. Charisma is less a reinvention than the uncovering of something that had been waiting in the background for years. The two Texas musicians first met at the age of fourteen, bonded by hardcore music and went on to share high school, decades of friendship and more than fifteen years together in Will To Live. Daniel also forged his own path with Die Young and their musical histories have been shaped by intensity, conviction and uncompromising expression.

But Mr. Charisma travels somewhere else entirely, leaving the physical force of hardcore behind in favour of something darker, slower and more contemplative. Drawing from outlaw country, folk, Americana, neofolk and post punk, the project finds its identity in a dark and smokey atmosphere. Reverb-heavy guitars, sombre melodies and Chris’ distinctive baritone create a sound with a weathered, nocturnal quality, offering music built for long drives, empty roads and the sort of thoughts that tend to surface when there’s nowhere left to hide from them.

The project’s conceptual world also draws heavily from the first season of True Detective, particularly its sense of existential dread and the philosophical questions lurking beneath its Southern noir atmosphere. Even the name Mr. Charisma comes from a memorable line in the series, an influence that gives the project a long sonic shadow, creating songs that explore doubt, disappointment, uncomfortable ideas and the more complicated corners of human behaviour.

The origins of Mr. Charisma can be traced back to a collection of acoustic demos Daniel was originally developing for Mainländer, his cover-focused side project. One of those early ideas eventually became “Mind Don’t Work,” a track that proved to be something of a turning point and from there, the project began to take shape as its own distinct entity, allowing the pair to explore a musical sphere that had existed alongside their hardcore identities for years. Their critically acclaimed debut EP, Evil in This World, mapped out that language through themes of disappointment, doubt and self-examination.

Now, with its sophomore EP entitled Some People, Mr. Charisma ventures further into the noir-toned aspects of modern humanity. Across four tracks, the EP turns its attention towards mental illness, social dysfunction and the bleak realities that arise when individual damage collides with a fragmented wider world. Some People revolves around perspectives that confront difficult behaviour and ideas directly, while still placing them inside simple, catchy and darkly heartfelt tunes. It is social commentary with a cloud over it, observing people at their most contradictory, self-destructive and difficult to understand.

The title track opens the EP while serving as a warning about unsavoury characters, framed in a dark, stripped back gothic folk soundscape. The metallic strums of acoustic guitar form a steady rhythmic backdrop as Chris’ deep vocals drape brooding melodies over the sonic fabric while touches of harmonies lift lyrical lines to lofty spaces throughout, offering a powerful showcase of Mr. Charisma’s ability to create highly affecting music through restrained settings.

Arriving with lively guitar chords, “What Matters Most” takes a satirical approach to narcissistic and performative political agitators operating across government and media. Contrasting the hurried guitar-driven arrangement with lilting melodic leads, the song expands with the twang of intricate electric guitar lines, progressing with bluesy lead licks and absorbing atmosphere throughout. The pair also bring their own interpretation to Motörhead’s “God Was Never on Your Side,” using the song to examine religious hypocrisy through the distinctive aesthetic that now defines Mr. Charisma, offering an incredible reimagining of the song that reframes it in their own way.

Closing track “You Better Win” turns its attention towards warfare, offering a deliberately sobering and amoral perspective on opposing factions engaged in conflict. While eschewing a search for easy heroes or clean moral answers, the song looks at the harsher realities that emerge when groups become locked against one another. Wrapped up in another moody folk sound, the strums of guitar and patter of percussive elements are met by resonant vocals and choral backing voices as the plucks of lead guitar notes adds to the song’s engrossing country atmosphere. Some People sees Mr. Charisma continue to develop a world where dark folk melodies meet timeless storytelling and for two musicians whose shared history began in the intensity of hardcore, this latest chapter proves that conviction can take many forms.

Listen to Some People below