LISTEN: Charlie Lim’s Time/Space Double EP
We first came into contact with singer-songwriter Charlie Lim way back when in 2012 on a tiny stage at Urbanscapes. Since then, the stages in which he performs on are growing grander and so are the praises lauded at him by regional press, with one even dubbing him as the “Master of Melancholy”; a big claim but we think it’s no exaggeration at all. Now, the Singaporean artiste’s sophomore album comes in the form of a double EP entitled Time/Space — that stroke between the two EP titles represents the divergence in the two approaches taken by Charlie, who had invested three years to craft the album.
With Time, it fully displays that mastery of melancholy with acoustic, introspective tracks. But it’s not without injecting some lightheartedness, such as the case with the ’20s speakeasy-esque tune ‘Blah Blah Blues’. Moving away from the woeful acoustics, the undulating synth of ‘Conspiracy’ opens the second collection Space — with which its disco composition and his falsetto result in a definitive compound of a perfect disco tune. ‘Knots’ is another musical departure from the album; it begins with a rasta sample — an odd, misplaced hint to nothing — and a hook composed of a piercing vocal, percussion, and a subtle synth bassline. Charlie continues to experiment with electronic-inclined pop with the soulful r’n’b ‘Nothing More Cruel’ and the downbeat ‘I Only Tell The Truth’, which segues into the thematic poignancy of the crystalline keys on ‘Outro’.
If you still can’t be bothered to take a listen to Charlie’s newest album, just know that Time/Space debuted at number one on iTunes within an hour of its release.
Stream the double EP below:
Time/Space is available for purchase here.