In a conversation we had earlier this year, Charlie Murphy set out for 2016 to be as busy as he could possibly make it. Sure, within these ten months we’ve had a newly formed label in Nerve Centre, two EPs from two different projects and a few delirious music videos and that can seem perhaps a relatively fruitful year for some, but the fact that everything Murphy has put his hand to has been either pure punk or power-pop gold attests to his creative fervour and ability. While ‘A Little Reaction‘, a second EP from the man himself & his Gazorpos, was hastily crafted within this busy time, it’s perhaps his best and most definitive display of personality yet.
Murph & The Gazorpos was born out of an appreciation for Dick Dale’s summertime smashes and a love for the sort of comics you’d find hand-crafted in the bottom of your drawer, the type you’d hide from the girl you like just in case she ever stepped foot in your room and would think you weren’t cool. Scrappily coloured and with a love for bands called The Fuckheads, it’s come to be the most suitable description for the Gazorpos sound, effortlessly rough but with the biggest heart of hooks you’ll possibly hear. ‘A Little Reaction‘ takes that unsystematic kid from his room and sticks him in front of a crowd full of leather jacketed bikers and tears the place apart – whilst the girl in denim smokes at the back and breaks your guy’s heart.
In this circumstance, who the fuck needs progression when the tracks are of this certifiable quality. ‘A Little Reaction‘ is the faster paced, slicked back older sibling of ‘All Night‘, undoubtably more experienced, sharp but still being punched in the gut by that one that left town. Murph practically oozes out his words with purpose, every snaking ooh through ‘I Need You‘ is loose and emphatic, staking his own delivery whilst speaking for every single one of us that are self-aware. ‘It’s Not You‘ might be the effect to ‘No Reply‘s cause – tired of sitting around waiting for the phone to ring, it’s time to move on, but he already knows it won’t be so easy.
It leads to ‘You Did It‘, quite possibly the best track of the year, full stop. We talk about definitive moments like they’re going out of fashion, but when there is a hook this rollicking, a voice this caustic and compelling and a song so undeniably fucking catchy, how can you not mention them. This is the mark of Charlie Murphy’s already noted ability as a writer, narrator and kick-ass song crafter – don’t hang around about it cause he probably won’t.