Charm School and Unsureway Reviewed
Charm School – Disgrace
You can’t see the same things every day and be shocked any more! You can’t listen to the same sounds as you always did, and still get surprised! I suppose that, if you want a revolution, you’ll just have to learn to revolutionise the way you distribute information. That’s quite the ask!
Charm School, however, are up for it. This post-punk group of protesters, using electric instruments to start a commotion, knows their opponents’ strategy. They’ve normalised vile acts, turned evil into a routine, and made ugliness unescapable.
They’re in charge, and they’re eating up more of all our resources every day, gutting hope and putting their name on assets that they’ll gladly loan back to you in exchange for your subservience. But to stop them, we’ve gotta learn to communicate differently.
“Disgrace” is a great 2026 protest anthem! But it’s not just because of the title, the artwork, or the fact that it sets its sights on the tech-billionaires and the politicians they have in their pockets. Charm School, learning from the genre’s greats, knows exactly how to make you pay attention, how to make you feel uncomfortable enough that you can decide for yourself that you won’t take it anymore!
Unsureway – I Am a Nervous Man
It, perhaps, says more about the state of the world than that of the music industry or creativity as a whole that the modern pop scene doesn’t produce any David Lee Roth anymore, and that all songs seem to use the same sounds and structures.
Music may well just be a lot of math. But, you’d only dare say that if you were trying to strip it of any romance, or/and thinking that there was a golden formula to writing a bona fide hit that you may stumble upon.
Nah, there are no more David Lee Roths anymore, because nobody can work up the confidence to tell you that cars and girls will solve all problems. And there are a few writing pop songs that don’t adhere to a formula. That’s why Unsureway’s music is a sign of the times and a fight against them.
“I Am a Nervous Man” really is a poem set to a beat and post-punk bass riff. The words, however, are used very cleverly as the focal point, and none of them are wasted. They’ll tell the story of someone being driven to madness by constant anxiety, a condition most modern listeners will be able to relate to. It’s a great song about lack of confidence, and a reminder that there’s more than one way to write a pop tune, even today.
