Right out of Ottawa, Canada, comes an ethereal-sounding pop delight, otherwise known as Lady Charles. Lady Charles radiates exuberance and shiny tones throughout their explorative and vivid discography.
Ethereal-sounding lyrics emanate from Lady Charles’ flirtations into the meshings of bright electropop and subtle rock genres. Following their latest single off their album Manic Pixie Dream World, ‘Godx’, a synthy, electronic pop delve into the relationship between gender and religion, Noella (Can’t Get Enough of You) is a deeper look into what the pandemic meant for loving relationships. On the surface, Noella explores a romantic relationship, one shared between those in the spotlight. Lady Charles and their partner, Stef, concocted fictional personas for the subjects of this track. Noella personifies a glorified version of Stef as a Youtuber who shapes their persona around the “parody of the eccentric artist archetype.”
Lady Charles admitted the original iteration of the single included calls of real names of some YouTubers who Stef and they enjoyed watching. After the controversy, cancellations, and negative media connotations, Lady Charles scrapped the references and landed on “a wannabe YouTuber, singing a love song to this artist who he barely understands.”
During the production and writing of Noella, Lady Charles mentioned their rising popularity in Latin America, and their visit to Frida Kahlo’s house reverberated through the construction of the song. “She is the reason I don’t pluck my eyebrows. This is how the line ‘You’re Frida, but I’m no Diego’ came to be – both as a nod to a country that has supported me and an artist that has inspired me.”
The tune opens with a catchy piano and electric guitar lick before dissolving into warm lyrics shrouded in infatuation. The vocals fluctuate throughout the song from higher-pitched glows to deeper, almost spoken-word phrases like “Have you had enough of me? And you’re not regretting cuffing me?” These dialogue licks serve to evaluate the relationship of the singer with the alleged love interest, but also with Lady Charles’ connection to their musical talent.
“On a different level, the song speaks to my own relationship with art, Lady Charles explained. “I feel at home wearing crazy outfits and glamorous makeup because that’s authentic to me, even though I’ve had people tell me I should just keep it simple. I am drawn to artists who get labeled as pretentious or try hard because I admire their commitment to pushing the boundaries of art itself, even if they don’t really succeed. In a way, Noella is my love letter to art itself.”
