Nothing Matters to Chuck Now

Chuck is the music of Charles Griffin Gibson, an award-winning East Coast-raised American filmmaker living and working in Oslo, Norway. By day he edits documentary films, by night he writes and self-records DIY singer-songwriter oddities. He debuted with the Frog-produced Let’s Make Out EP before debuting for Audio Antihero (Frog / Magana / Nosferatu D2 / Cloud) with the My Band Is A Computer career retrospective. His last album was 2017’s Frankenstein Songs for the Grocery Store, but in 2024 Chuck has begun to hear the call of the unreleased and obscure songs in his catalogue. The bitter and breezy indie pop of ‘Nothing Matters to Me Now’ is the first in a series of releases.

Chuck says of the new release, “I had a demo of the competing-synth-melody chorus for maybe five years before I was able to actually build the whole song out. And it's been another five years since I did that, so now when I hear it it's like I'm listening to someone else's music. From a production standpoint there's probably too many elements in the mix, but damn I still love that chorus and am glad I hung on to it. It's simultaneously sad, manic, stupid, and fun. It's exploding and overwhelming you musically while the singer mutters something hopeless to himself. I love the contrast there. I think the lyrics were a reaction to the 2016 US presidential election, but I read them now as more of a self-hate letter to the worst sides of myself.  This is one of many unreleased songs I'm compiling in a new Chuck release later this year with the lovely, patient and passionate Jamie at Audio Antihero.”

The Los Angeles-based Bedbug have announced their fourth full-length album, pack your bags, the sun is growing, for March 15. Released through Boston’s Disposable America label, this will be their first album in nearly four years, and their first material of any kind since 2022’s self-titled EP.

Bedbug is the evolving project of Dylan Gamez Citron (they/them), which has grown from a solo project in Boston, MA (comprised of Casio synths, loop pedals, and cassette tapes) to a full-fledged indie rock band. They debuted in 2016 with if i got smaller grew wings and flew away for good (released through the cult favorite Z Tapes cassette label) which earned significant acclaim and became something of a Bandcamp DIY classic.

Citron’s fledgling efforts impressed Run For Cover Records who then released Bedbug’s i’ll count to heaven in years without seasons (2018) and life like moving pictures (2020) via their Joy Void imprint. This period saw Bedbug continue to reach new fans through gorgeous write-ups from top outlets all across the world, and live performances with the likes of Japanese Breakfast, Grouper, Lomelda, Snail Mail, Strange Ranger, yourarmsaremycocoon, and Frog.

This will be their first LP to be recorded in a studio and to feature a full band, this iteration of Bedbug has a new urgency, offering an unashamed love letter to indie rock greats like Built to Spill, Cap'n Jazz, Modest Mouse, and Broken Social Scene, whilst preserving the lo-fi energy and bedroom pop heart of their previous works. Conceptually, the album is kaleidoscopic, blending confessional lyricism with surrealist storytelling. It is available now for pre-order and the lead single, ‘halo on the interstate’, is out now.