Los Angeles-based electronic music act Charm School features Louisville, KY-born, Los Angeles-based multi-hyphenate artist and frontman Andrew Sellers and his longtime collaborators Matt Filip and Dave English. Sellers grew up immersed in Louisville’s underground scene, soaking up the work of local acts like Slint, Crain and Rodan, as well as the catalogs of beloved Chicago indie labels Touch & Go and Drag City. Later, Sellers got into PIL, Swell Maps, The Fall and Fugazi and The Nation of Ulysses. All of that informs Charm School’s sound and approach.
Their debut EP, 2023’s Finite Jest introduced listeners to a philosophically-minded, crushingly loud critique of modern life’s increasingly maddening realities. Last year’s full-length debut, Debt Forever introduced a broader range of influences and a much more acerbic viewpoint with lyrics drenched in salty, satirical humor.
Released earlier this year, Schadenfreude Ploy EP picks up where Debt Forever left off, musing on humanity’s tortured psyche and the confounding implications of living in a technocratic, dystopian hellscape in which tech billionaires, AI and modern life’s various manipulative traps are ubiquitous and seemingly inescapable.
Continuing a remarkably prolific period, the Los Angeles trio’s latest single, the Matia Simovich-produced “Desolation” is a hook-driven, EBM/darkwave/goth banger featuring 80s synthclavier stabs, thumping 808s paired with Sellers dryly sardonic yet simultaneously sincere delivery. Sonically bringing the likes of early Ministry, Depeche Mode, as well as contemporaries like Public Circuit to mind, the song is a club anthem for our dystopian hellscape. The world’s on fire and everything seems hopelessly fucked, so have a little fun, dance and sweat it out with some other humans.
____
The Joy of Violent Movement is a completely independent and completely D.I.Y. media outlet. Over the course of this site’s 16 year history, I’ve used my fiercely independent stance to cover music with an eclectic and global perspective that a lot of other publications just don’t have — and will likely never have.
To that end, I could use your support to continue to keep bringing you my unique global perspective on music. There are a number of ways that you can support this work.
I’ve been told that some people would prefer to make a one-time donation because it’s easy and less of an obligation. So, if you’re able to make a one-time donation, there’s a donation box below.
Make a one-time donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
If you can give more regularly, please feel free to check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement.
Anything you can give is very much appreciated. It can and does make a real difference, y’all.
I know that a lot of folks are struggling to make ends meet in an uncertain and tumultuous economic climate. So there are other, non-financial ways in which you can support this work.
You can follow me on the following social platforms:
X/Twitter: @yankee32879 and @joyofviolent
Instagram: @william_ruben_helms
Threads: @william_ruben_helms
Bluesky: @williamrubenhelms.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
As always, if there are posts that you dig, share them with your friends. The more eyeballs on my work, the better.
Discover more from The Joy of Violent Movement
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.