To Jack Cawthon, vocalist of Charles Rogers, the understanding of the temporary nature of life was instilled at a young age as an avid fan of the Detroit Lions. The band’s namesake, a wide receiver named Charles Rogers, who after having a promising start in college, had a brief career in the NFL that did not come anywhere close to the staggering expectations set before him. While many fans and the Lions themselves were disappointed by Roger’s professional achievements, Jack tended to see Roger’s stint in the league quite differently, which in turn had a profound effect on him as a person and a musician.

Everything he learned from Roger’s legacy can be observed in what makes all the members of Charles Rogers such a cohesive creative force. It’s in their passionate readiness to ride out the ups and downs that are commonplace in just getting through life, their fierce competitiveness needed to grow and succeed as a group, and that everything they strive for is temperamental has had an impact on each member. It’s further reflected in their influences: (Raymond Carver, Fugazi, Self Defense Family, David Foster Wallace) and in their attitude to performing music: Walking on stage with the overpowering anxiety compacting the lungs and stomach into a single organ and then channeling that into unbridled aggression that rips both vocal chords and sound waves; all of these influences and actions coalescing in an effort that justifies their art's existence with juxtaposed swagger and subtly while also unabashedly laying out all the festering self consciousness that conceived it.

In their first full length album High Concept, an accumulation of all the band has strived for in it’s earlier releases is apparent; one foot planted in what it used to be in an effort to push the other forward into new territory. Those forces in their past EPs are kept under control but are still present while adding new sounds and ideas to their overarching themes of loss, regression, insecurity, and making sense of it all in the split between the humdrum and infuriating nature that day to day life assumes. This dichotomy is mirrored by their sound; switching between a raucous hardcore squall that engulfs the listener in harsh tones and themes such as in the song “Big Fun” where high energy guitar and drums beat back the defeatist lyrics “Surrounded in a wreath/ Of cigarette smoke and mosquitoes/ You said this place depresses you/ I wish that I could disagree.” Or a more subdued approach that the band takes in the song “Appeal” where post punk guitar and thumping bass and drums drive forward the monotony and disappointing realizations of long term relationships in lines such as “Minimum wage doesn’t cut it like it used too/ So we stick to our roots/ What’ll happen when appliances break?/ The rainy day fund turned to weeks/ And it sprang a leak.”

Charles Roger’s past releases were nearly shaking with hostility; the music, vocals, and lyrics all emitting an energy that couldn’t be contained. In this release, the past, present, and ever encroaching future run into each other head first. For some, this collision may be too much as Charles Roger’s raw sound and lyricism can be striking as they address their fans and themselves, in no uncertain terms, with scathing honesty. But this turmoil is all to the listener’s gain, as Charles Rogers tackles them with finesse and a new sense of urgency to redirect these fears towards something better.

-Matthew Benkarski