Halloween Song: Charming Disaster - “Disembodied Head”

Here’s a repost from the BHT haunted vault that made its debut just a little over a year ago.

I discovered the Brooklyn-based, goth-folk duo Charming Disaster via a Facebook post promoting a four-act gig at Reggies Music Joint in Chicago in 2023. Considering the dark and catchy tunes such as “Monsters,” “Grimoire,” and “Bat Song” on their album Super Natural History, you’d feel lucky to have Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris show up at your Halloween party. And probably a little afraid.

On “Disembodied Head,” Bisker and Morris take a mad scientist movie cliché and explore how it would actually feel, using imagination and clever wordplay. “Wake one day and here you are/You’re just a brain inside a jar,” they sing over a sparse guitar arrangement. “Now what you get is what you see/You’re on your own got nobody.” The song might also serve as a satire on meditation and the dangers of overthinking things. At any rate, it’s fun.

Charming Disaster won’t be haunting the Chicago club scene this Halloween, but they have a busy schedule coming up. They also plan to release three stripped-down covers “that pay tribute to a few of our musical inspirations: Leonard Cohen, Bauhaus, and The Cure.” They’re available for pre-order via Bandcamp.