Most bands are inseparable during the album-writing process. However, power pop four-piece Charly Bliss produced their third studio record between two different continents, different hemispheres, and different time zones.
'Forever' spans five years of massive life changes between all four band members, including children, an engagement, an international move, and thousands of kilometres spent apart. "I think when you go through periods of change like that, it draws attention to the constants in your life," singer Eva Hendricks explains."My constant is this band. It's the longest relationship of my life. We've been friends since we were 12 years old – and obviously, my brother and I for longer. This is an album of life shifts and growth and coming of age, and realising as you get older how important the people closest to you are.
"The theme is definitely love-centric in every way. Romantic love, friendship love, and the love between the four of us – even through an extended separation."
That separation stemmed from Eva travelling to Australia, swept up in a fresh relationship that all started at Splendour In The Grass. "We performed there in 2019, and I was going through a breakup, and my bandmates convinced me to go on Tinder.
"They said, 'This is a great place to try it! You'll never be back here! If it all goes wrong, you'll never have to see the person again.' So we made a profile together, and my now-fiancé Callum was the first person I saw. I swiped right, and we matched the following day, but I was already at the Gold Coast Airport flying to Sydney for a show.
"So then, he drove. He drove down from Coolangatta to meet me, and he's the least impulsive person you'll ever meet. Nine hours' drive – and my bandmates were like, 'This is going to be a disaster. He doesn’t even know you. This man's a serial killer.' But it felt right from the moment we met. Two weeks later, he was in New York with me, meeting my family."
Eva returned to Australia in 2020 with the plan of staying for only six weeks, after Charly Bliss wrapped up their ten-month tour. "I wanted to test out the relationship. Was it real? Or honeymoon period? And then – COVID happened. I went from living in neurotic New York to just a tiny beach town where everybody knew each other, and dated each other, and I knew one person in the country."
Despite her isolation, Eva began songwriting again, renting cars and finding scenic spots to sit and flesh out the 12 tracks of 'Forever'. "The time difference between Australia and America was actually an advantage for the band, because we would work together for a few hours, and then while they were asleep, I would record vocals, and then while I was asleep, they would produce the track. It felt like a 24-hour music factory," Eva laughs.
The result? The band's biggest, brightest power pop yet – cramming decades of friendship and years of craft into a batch of sonically tight, but emotionally vast songs that shimmer and burst, capturing 'fun' through sound.
Now? Charly Bliss is gearing up for an extensive American tour, seeing Eva's two lives in separate continents collide. "I have new friends from Coolangatta coming to see our show in New York. Then I get back to Australia and two weeks later, Callum and I are getting married.
"And my old friends from New York are coming to Byron Bay for the wedding. My double life is finally coming together, which is really validating," Eva shares. "We were young and innocent and carefree in our debut album 'Guppy', and we put so much pressure on ourselves to write our second 'Young Enough'.
"But 'Forever' feels like we started from zero – in a good way. To me, the album sounds the most like us, the most Charly Bliss."
