There’s a lot of rage behind the dreamy vocals and synth on Charlee Remitz’s new studio album, Garden. The Montana native uses 17 tracks to reclaim her heart and outline a new approach to life after ditching a toxic relationship. However, listeners would be remiss if they wrote the work off as a simple “breakup album.” Remitz also explores themes of strength and personal growth by embracing imperfection and rejecting the ego.
A seed planted out of heartache
“Here’s the thing,” she says in spoken word on the track “A Real Monster,” “I really am the center of the universe.” But Remitz didn’t always have this level of confidence. The garden she references so heavily throughout the album grew out of a long and troubled history of abuse, anxiety, depression and self-doubt. A recent press release states, “Charlee Remitz found herself at a crossroads in 2018: let the tragedies become her or let the tragedies drive her. The award-winning independent singer-songwriter, mixer, and producer downloaded a trial version of Ableton, taught herself the program and hand-stitched every note of her new album Garden.” She takes great pains to highlight the importance of building self-worth, a task that took her years to accomplish.
Remitz layers these poetic monologues in between tracks that follow traditional ballad-like storytelling, expelling her demons through 80’s-style pop and unapologetically blunt lyrics. In a style reminiscent to Eve Ensler’s wildly popular Vagina Monologues, Remitz hammers home the idea that “Growth is subtle.” She says, “With every heartache I planted a seed. In no time, I grew a garden. It’s massive, it’s self-aware. It refuses to be contained.
“Here’s the thing: I really am the center of the universe.”
“My garden is resilient. It doesn’t wither when it’s yelled at, nor does it take things personally. It does not expect anything from any one and it knows when it’s outgrown others. My garden is beautiful, observant. It knows its worth. It’s a fighter and it will not stop growing or hide behind a wall because its grandeur might offend insecure men. My garden does not bloom in spite of them. My garden blooms despite them.”
Travel to a cosmic galaxy of sound
A steamroller when it comes to sending a message, Remitz complements her hard-hitting lyrics with ethereal synth and fluttering percussion. Tracks like “Yearbook” and “Garden” are purely instrumental with an atmospheric quality, transporting listeners into a cosmic galaxy of sound. In a feature calling out Garden as album of the week, Brett Callwood of LA Weekly asserts, “It’s disarming, the way that she hypnotizes with her voice and, yes, production, before tearing out your heart with her lyrics.”
While she may be self-taught, Charlee Remitz is no stranger to producing expert-level work. The track “King’s Cup,” off her premier album “Bright White Trims,” holds over 300,000 downloads on Spotify, labeled “apt for the dance floor.” Her work has earned a New Music Friday playlist add, with three top 200 debuts on college radio, and multiple song placements in popular Bravo and E! TV network shows.
Garden is Remitz’s third full-length album. She performs along the West coast this week to promote its release. Visit her webpage for future tour dates and to keep an eye on this breezy bombshell.