Exclusive Song Premiere: Austin Teens Charlie Belle Sweep Their Problems "Under The Rug"

Austin trio Charlie Belle doesn’t have anyone named Charlie or Belle in it. But the three-piece—made up of brother and sister Jendayi and Gyasi Bonds (guitar and drums, respectively, as well as vocals from both) and Zoe Czarnecki (bass)—landed in USA Today‘s PopCandy blog with a viral bedroom cover of the Magnetic Fields’ “Strange Powers” in 2011, when Jendayi was 12 years old. This helped launched a viral life that’s included an appearance on Amy Poehler’s webseries Smart Girls At The Party in 2012, and getting one of their tracks featured as the “theme song” for beloved teen website Rookie. Now, with the wisdom and experience that comes with being firmly in their mid-teen years, Charlie Belle are readying the release of their first EP.

To give you a taste of what the band’s pop sensibilities translate into at this point in their career, give a listen to “Under The Rug,” a dark, driving track with a singalong chorus and Jendayi Bonds’ confident vocals holding down the verse. “It’s one of my favorite songs,” Bonds says. “The more I played it, the more I liked it—I really liked how simple the guitar was, so I went with it. It’s probably the darkest-sounding guitar part I’ve written, so I really wanted the lyrics to parallel that. It just felt like a song that needed a powerful message.”

There’s a lot that’s powerful about Charlie Belle, and the band’s bright future. Check out “Under The Rug” below to get a firsthand feel for what it might sound like.