Charm School

Louisville post-punk band Charm School shares new single "Without A Doubt" from new LP Debt Forever.

Charm School is the latest project from Andrew Sellers (fka Andrew Rinehart) and longtime collaborators Matt Filip, Drew English, Brian Vega, and Jason Bemis Lawrence. The name change signals a move away from Sellers' previous songwriting efforts (as evidenced by his recent duet with Bonnie Prince Billy) toward a much darker and more aggressive sound. Think 70s Post-Punk & No Wave mixed with 90s Post-Rock and you’ll be close. 

Originally from Louisville, KY, Sellers has paid his dues in both the NYC and LA DIY music scenes, and his various bands have played with seminal acts like Joan of Arc, Grizzly Bear & At The Drive-In. 

Sellers offers this background on the new single, "Without A Doubt"

"This song is a bit of a throwback to the kind of music I was doing before Charm School started a year and a half ago.

It's by far the most pensive, melancholic song on the record, and it seems fitting that it's coming out right now, amidst all the turbulence in the world.

The main theme of this new record is financial uncertainty (or just uncertainty in general), so the main thing I remember about this song is the refrain "Please don't let me run out of money" coming out randomly during practice one day.

I didn't think anything of it cuz I was just filling space, but over time I started to realize that I really truly did have that fear, and it came from a very deep and maybe even unconscious place.  

It's funny because I had a good job when I was writing the song, in fact it was the best and most well-paying job I've ever had.

Of course I always knew that could change though, and it did - I got laid off a year or so ago. I definitely feel that line when I sing it now.

I'm very curious to see how the next year goes in this country. I have a feeling a lot of people are gonna start waking up to how little capitalism really cares about any of us."       

Previously, the band shared last month their single, "Happiness Is A Warm Sun." While the band usually works in the same lane as bands like Metz or Protomartyr, "Sun" finds the band sounding more like Lou Reed fronting a krautrock band like Can or Faust. The band's debut LP, Debt Forever, is out in January 24, 2025. 

Photo by Destiny Robb

Charm School's forthcoming LP (titled Debt Forever) is due out on January 24th, 2025.

You can pre-order the extremely limited vinyl version HERE

TOUR DATES

24 Jan 25 Zanzabar (Louisville, KY)

1 Feb 25 Purgatory (Brooklyn, NY)

2 Feb 25 The Upside (Lancaster, PA)

8 Feb 25 Cafe Bourbon Street (Columbus, OH)

21 Feb 25 TBA (Dayton, OH)