The track is the lauded queer-fronted band’s first release of 2024
The romanticisation of substances like drugs and alcohol is a common theme in modern media, with latest CHARLESCANTBREATHE single ‘Gin & Tonic’ exploring the way that they have helped us form bonds with others and cope with and manage the toxic relationships made along the way.
Heavily influenced by TV shows like Skins, the new single delves into the trope of the angry teenager and candidly lays out some of the reasons that they fall headfirst into the habits that they do as a means of coping and trying to get through whatever they’re going for. There is a really measured and engrossing tone to the sound that feels rousing and with a pointed sense of optimism lurking beneath the surface. The track is something of a reminder that many people go through hard times, trauma and difficult situations, and in its own way, is a message of holding out hope that things are going to get better as long as you keep pushing forward and find yourself getting out of the other side.
Charlie says, “I was 18 at the time, and was experiencing toxic relationships everywhere I looked- in my family, in my social circle, in the world around me. I had just started watching ‘Skins’ and felt an affinity to all the edgy characters who would romanticise drugs and alcohol as a way to bond with others and deal with their emotions, and realised this is exactly what me and my friends did. I was head over heels for somebody at the time, who always made me feel second best, even though I had the biggest ego ever (hence the line ‘And I may be the best dressed / But I’m always second best.’ Gin & Tonic is about the trials and tribulations of being a lost, confused, angry teenager from a broken home, and how we trauma bond with our peers and drink, overthink, and scream our way through the toughest years of our lives. The song represents a time in my life where all I could do was hold on to hope for the future. Now, as a 24 year old, I sing it with the knowledge that everything turned out okay. I don’t even drink anymore!”
