New Music Monday: Nuela Charles

Musicians whose biographies are heavy on loss or strife that then make superb pop out of the experience are a kind of alchemist. At what point in grieving, or recovering, does an artist say “This soul-shearing pain would be well-translated by a set of handclaps and a brass swing”? It’s a remarkable, admirable feat, akin to the one that must happen for the myriad comedians whose careers were borne of tragedy. Edmonton, AB singer-songwriter Nuela Charles is this kind of alchemist, and her latest record, The Grand Hustle, is soul-pop gold.

Charles calls this album “the ultimate comeback story,” four years after her debut album Aware was released, and wrought with the the “discovery, love, loss and recovery” she’s wrestled with since then. Songs like “Crumbling Down” and “Fever” are instantly catchy, and their brightness is laced with a compellingly dark edge. “Fever” is the record’s second and latest single, capturing what Charles calls “urgency, emotion and togetherness, which…is needed now more than ever.” Watch the video for Fever here, and listen to the album stream below. The Grand Hustle is out now.

by Katie Presley

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Katie Presley is a writer and editor currently based on the East Coast (help, how did this happen??). She's been with Bitch in one form or another since 2010, when she started as a New Media Intern, and most recently served as Bitch's first and only Music Editor, from 2016-2017. Past resume lines include Assistant Producer for All Songs Considered at NPR Music, panelist on Pop Culture Happy Hour, and bylines at NPR and Ms. Katie is also a doula and herbalist, and writes a blog on herbal medicine, "The Herbal Apprentice." She also co-founded the first full-spectrum doula organization in Texas, The Bridge Collective. She is also a late-comer to being a Dog Person, but currently lives with four cats.