Chartreuse get reflective on ‘Enough To Make You Laugh’
The band will support The Maccabees in Edinburgh and Newcastle this July.
Photo: Rosie Sco
“You’ve been here before”
Chartreuse cry out on their latest single Enough To Make You Laugh. They’re certainly not wrong. The song is cloaked in a warm sense of familiarity. It is as comforting as it is melancholic as it addresses the push and pull of nostalgia and the exciting possibilities found in a new relationship. Frontman Mike Wagstaff admits that, “Enough To Make You Laugh is about connection and finding the person that’s right for me. I’m still holding onto this new feeling, watching it shine, and it feels great to put it all in this song, while also acknowledging the bit of cynicism and anxiousness I always carry.”
Musically, the Black Country band are masters of restraint. The sparse, yet warm, arrangement allows the soul of the song to really seep through. The guitars are crisp and clear without taking up too much space and the drums manage to somehow punch without overpowering anything else in the mix. Put simply, it is wonderfully assembled, produced, and just sounds lovely to listen to.
The real heart of the song is Wagstaff’s hushed, anxious vocal that go hand in hand with the melancholic lyrics. The tone and delivery bring to mind the best of early Bon Iver and the occasionally hushed tones of The National’s Matt Berninger. It sounds like you are being blessed with stumbling upon a whispered, private conversation. It is as gripping as it is emotionally affecting. Pianist Hattie Wilson’s haunting harmonies are simply shiver-inducing. Each musical element of this song is as carefully crafted as it is wonderfully performed.
Enough To Make You Laugh is grounded in melancholy and dripping with the warmest kind of sadness. Not the type of sadness that makes you cry, but instead, the type of sadness that fills you with warmth and peace. As Chartreuse themselves tell it, their music is “informed by struggle and grief” but, most importantly, “isn’t defined by it.” It might not be ‘enough to make you laugh’, but it’s enough to make you want to keep on coming back. Above all, it’s certainly enough to make you smile.
The band are embarking on some special UK shows later in the year, supporting indie giants The Maccabees in Edinburgh and Newcastle alongside festival dates across Europe.
Enough To Make You Laugh is out now via Communion.
