Charm School (Bishop Allen album)
| Charm School | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 6, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2001 - December 21, 2002 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 38:53 | |||
| Label | Champagne School | |||
| Producer | Justin Rice, Christian Rudder | |||
| Bishop Allen chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
Charm School is the first album by the indie rock group Bishop Allen released in 2003 on the band's own Champagne School "label".
Track listing
- "Charm School" – 2:08
- "Little Black Ache" – 2:47
- "Busted Heart" – 3:54
- "Bishop Allen Drive" – 2:56
- "Eve of Destruction" – 3:36
- "Things Are What You Make of Them" – 3:57
- "Ghosts Are Good Company" – 3:01
- "Empire City" – 2:42
- "Coupla Easy Things" – 2:22
- "Penitentiary Bound" – 1:57
- "Quarter to Three" – 3:21
- "Another Wasted Night" – 2:32
- "Things Are What You Make of Them (Reprise)" – 3:36
The track "Eve of Destruction" is partly based on P. F. Sloan's well-known song of the same name. "Little Black Ache" is partially based on The Nightcrawlers' song "Little Black Egg". "Charm School" is partly based on the Hank Williams' song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", and "Things Are What You Make Of Them" is partially based on The Association's "Never My Love".[3]
Reception
Charm School received an overwhelmingly positive reception upon its release. One CD Baby reviewer described the album as "feelgood music", and another described it as "charming."[4] Rolling Stone described the album as "If Modest Mouse spent a year in a Chuck E. Cheese ball pit". They go on to compliment the backing vocals of Bonnie.
Reissue
In August 2025, Bishop Allen announced on their Facebook page that there were big things coming.[5] This was the first announcement from the band since the October 2014 tour ended. In January 2026, it was announced that Charm School would be re-issued on vinyl and be available at the five reunion shows they were doing.[6] It was repeatedly stated that these would not be available after the shows.
Tour
The band had already begun to tour by the time Charm School was released. Their first live performance was on October 27th, 2002.[7] In May 2003, after the Charm School booklet had been printed, Margaret Miller decided to leave the band to focus on her career in children's publishing.[8] She is now a speech-language pathologist for the American Institute for Stuttering.[9] After the band's first tour, Bonnie Karin also decided to leave the band to become a 2nd grade teacher.[10] They were replaced by friends of the band Jack Delamitraux (or Woodhull) on drums and Christian Owens (C.O.) on bass.[10] C.O. would be with the band until early 2006, and Jack was with the band until early 2007.
Clementines
In November 2003, the band began to work on the follow-up to Charm School.[11] They began to record demos, which attracted the attention of the Polyvinyl Record Co. label.[12] They had a close friendship with Polyvinyl signee Mates of State, touring with them in 2004.[13] Bishop Allen would wind up on the Polyvinyl 2005 Sampler, with the track People You Meet.[14] This is the only officially released studio recording to feature C.O. on bass and backing vocals. After this, the band began to record more demos, and continued to perform live. At some point before April 2005, a portion of these demos were leaked to the internet, because the index page of the site was deleted and anyone was able to browse the site's directories for files.[15] This leak, along with another leak later in the year, caused the band to decide not to release the album.[16] Most of the songs were re-worked into tracks on the EP project.
References
- ^ Charm School at AllMusic
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ "Charm School Vinyl Liner Notes - BishopAllenDrive Board". www.bishopallendrive.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "CD Baby: BISHOP ALLEN: Charm School". cdbaby.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ Rice, Justin (January 2, 2026). "Charm School On Vinyl".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "BISHOP ALLEN: Support The THUNDER". bishopallen.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "BISHOP ALLEN: Support The THUNDER". bishopallen.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "Margaret Miller, M.A., CCC-SLP | AIS Staff". www.stutteringtreatment.org. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ a b "BISHOP ALLEN: Support The THUNDER". bishopallen.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "BISHOP ALLEN: Support The THUNDER". www.bishopallen.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2004. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ "Bishop Allen now part of Polyvinyl family - BishopAllenDrive Board". www.bishopallendrive.com. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
- ^ "The last time Bishop Allen toured with Mates of State..."
- ^ "Polyvinyl 2005 Sampler, by Polyvinyl Records". Polyvinyl Records. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
- ^ "Bishop Allen :: View topic - Site Index". www.bishopallen.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
- ^ "Lost Bishop Allen album, possibly called Clementines | Forums - The Lost Media Wiki". forums.lostmediawiki.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2026.