Parapsychosis Records ™ announces the release of the latest Charlie West CD, Confuse My Fuzziness. Recorded at Moss Studios in Baltimore, Maryland, Charlie West's second CD provides the music fan an earful of emotion while delighting the senses with unique sounds that truly belong to him. Charlie West, the self-proclaimed Psychedelic Folkster, lends intensity to the popular singer/songwriter genre. His acoustic-based sound is an amalgamation of folk-pop-psychedelic music with an occasional electric-guitar twist. Charlie began playing guitar at the age of fourteen, and at eighteen, had begun writing and recording. In 1988, Charlie's first album Wasted Time, recorded under the pseudonym "Chazz", was in heavy rotation at college radio stations in Maryland and Virginia. This out-of-print album can still be found at used record stores and on the internet. Charlie continued performing throughout his high school and college years in a variety of bands and as a solo performer. The 2001 release, The Charlie West Temporary A.M. Band, received excellent reviews. Confuse My Fuzziness is in keeping with Charlie's unique style. Guest musicians include Duane Ferrel and Lincoln Cross, with Teri Moss contributing lyrics and backing vocals. REVIEWS: Charlie West's music is a fusion of rock, country, new wave and psychedelia -- or, if you prefer, a mixture of pre-sellout Fleetwood Mac, Love and Rockets, Lloyd Cole and Robyn Hitchcock. His songs are very pop-focused, but he doesn't follow the pop formula, per se. The harmonies are too complex, the melodies a little too intricate, the mixing too strangely skewed and the orchestration is a bit upside down, ensuring that radio will find it too intellectual for air. This is unfortunate (and radio's loss), because we could certainly do with a return to this sort of material -- stuff that was once called "alternative" and "college radio". But I digress. Anyway, "Give Me This" is an intriguing song, dark and intimate at the beginning, aggressive and forceful during the brief four-bar choruses. West plays everything (very well, I might add) except drums, tastefully overdubbing little guitar licks and textures to add enough to supplement the track without gilding the lily. You'll half-expect Lindsey Buckingham to pipe up after "Never Gonna Miss It"'s delicate guitar pickin' into, and when West does sing, you'll realize just how similar his timbre is to Buckingham's. "Smile and Wait" lightens the mood a bit with optimistic lyrics ("now you're walking my way / now you're resting your head / it's lying safe on my heart") and a driving tempo under a minimal chord progression. West continues on throughout the disc, cranking out one interesting song after another and making good use of his minimal ensemble, favoring quality over quantity and giving the DIY sound a good name as he goes. West writes that he once followed the musician's path, living day to day for his art, scrounging from gig to gig, but changed his ways once he got married. Thankfully, the dream didn't die. I hope that West keeps traveling the reborn path he's found with Confuse My Fuzziness -- sorry Mrs. West, but your man needs to follow his calling. Dave Madden -SPLENDID May 2004 ARTIST: CHARLIE WEST SONG: LITTLE FLAMES Put your headphones on and slide your sunglasses over your eyes. Watch the first rays of the sun. As the song unfolds... Reminds me of the more ambient Stones type of material. Little Flames is a very strong song. The key to it however isn't what it has it's what it doesn't. It never tries to go for the big radio chorus instead focusing on the raw emotion and feeling of the song. The solo compliments instead of embellishes. Very reminiscent of Jesse Malin solo work. The lyrics are par for the course they fit the song and compliment it well. As the song fades out it's worth listen after listen. Slide the sunglasses off and feel the last notes fade into the back of your headphones. Take your headphones off and it was well worth the trip... Neil Jones- gods of music July 2004 "Confuse My Fuzziness" features a collection of 14 original songs in an acoustic, psychedelic "lava lamp mixed with lithurgic acid" domain. Lots of '70s style songwriting reminiscent of Ziggy Stardust, Greatful Dead, and later Beatles, mix together to create a very unique sound of his own in his songwriting. Charlie West with the exception of Tracks 1,2, writes all music and lyrics 10,12, and 13 of which are collaborations between himself and lyricist Teri Moss. As a solo singing guitarist/songwriter he manages to cut with his main instrument being the acoustic guitar. He also plays most of the instruments on the CD along with a bit of help on several of the drum tracks. Lincoln Cross is the featured drummer on track 2 while Duane Ferrell plays on tracks 4,5,6,11, & 14. Teri Moss squeezes in backing vocal tracks on several cuts. On this disc clean acoustic guitar picking and vocals in assorted moods are decorated with guitar hooks, mandolin playing, and miscellaneous guitar effects. The opening track "Living A Lie" features some clean acoustic guitar that is later joined with a cool mandolin part somewhat reminiscent of the early Fleetwood Mac days. But all in all the song has it's own distinct sound. Of the many cuts on the CD the next one that stands out to me is "Never Gonna Miss It'. This one reminds me a bit like Traffic within the verses but takes an interesting turn at the chorus.... "Your Place" is a sort of a Grateful Dead type of acoustic guitar tune that flows into an upbeat chorus making it one of the best on the CD. "Without" has shades of U2 in that it features Edge guitar feel along with a slow build up throughout it's entirety. "Wonderland" has a British invasion vibe to it and is very enjoyable.... "All Awhile" is my favorite cut on the disc. I like the phrasing of the vocal along with the melody line on the chorus. It puts you in a great state of mind. It segues into the second half of the tune "Glorified" in a kind of odd way.... ...the writing is very innovative and Charlie explores moods that I've never heard before. Charlie has succeeded in creating and capturing his own identity in his songwriting. Dan Mudd Music Monthly April , 2004 Vol. 21, No. 4 Issue # 235 Ahh. Folk music with bite. That's the good stuff and Charlie West delivers it with fries on the side on his new disc Confuse My Fuzziness. Duane Ferrel and Lincoln Cross lend help on this disc playing the drums on a few tracks. This music twists you up and is difficult to nail with any appropriate verbiage. It lends itself well to college radio, but it should be coming out of your speakers from your own copy. This man is a gifted songwriter and his experience flows through each track in a humble way. Acoustic, electric, hell it's just damn good music of the people for the people. That's the heart of the folk sound and Charlie's got his fingers strummin' on its pulse... Laurin Wollan, Music Monthly, September, 2003 * Vol. 20, No. 9 * Issue #228 REVIEW: On his latest CD "Confuse My Fuzziness" Charlie West's style sees him combining elements of psych (spacey guitars, psych-y melodies) and folk (largely acoustic format, 'troubadour' atmosphere), and on many of the tracks this is very successful. The first four songs are especially pleasant, and will likely be enjoyed by many listeners, especially those turned on by inoffensive, simple pop music. "Feel Not," one of the album's best tunes, is a terrific acoustic pop song that anyone will enjoy - it uses his simple, basic formula, and the results are unspectacular but very enjoyable. Though this album is likely geared more at adults than anyone else, its terrific songs deserve a full audience. Confuse My Fuzziness contains fourteen very catchy folk-pop tunes. Matt Shimmer Indieville.com Jan. 12th 2004