CFM

CFM is the solo alias of Charles Moothart, a San Francisco-based garage rock musician who has worked extensively with <a href="spotify:artist:58XGUNsRNu3cVOIOYk5chx">Ty Segall</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6QobJ3vnalBTlsdOrvQTIt">Mikal Cronin</a> as part of bands such as <a href="spotify:artist:3PYmjKStjI9Cf4PSq3ZIek">Epsilons</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1X88xrhEvsoUjJ6EUHwiWF">Fuzz</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0nCleaQuUK1dCJZAdBICpi">Charlie & the Moonhearts</a>. CFM's specialty is buzzy rock & roll with a psychedelic flair, a distinct blues influence, and a tone that's generally moody and dark. CFM's debut album, 2016's Still Life of Citrus & Slime, was a downcast meditation on a romance gone sour, but the project matured into a more thematically varied vehicle on 2019's Soundtrack to an Empty Room.

Charles Moothart's resumé in the world of contemporary garage punk is extensive. He played guitar with the <a href="spotify:artist:5iFEjq22lxpgvzhpblcc68">Ty Segall Band</a>, held down the drummer's spot in <a href="spotify:artist:58XGUNsRNu3cVOIOYk5chx">Segall</a>'s later touring outfit the Freedom Band, and was guitarist as well as vocalist in <a href="spotify:artist:1X88xrhEvsoUjJ6EUHwiWF">Fuzz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:58XGUNsRNu3cVOIOYk5chx">Segall</a>'s homage to his hard rock influences. Moothart also worked with <a href="spotify:artist:78x9aF0bqxXHn3noFaHPKW">GØGGS</a>, which featured <a href="spotify:artist:58XGUNsRNu3cVOIOYk5chx">Segall</a> and Chris Shaw of <a href="spotify:artist:6neRQxL2y2KKIrOCt7x5NQ">Ex-Cult</a>, and he was a member of the Moonhearts with <a href="spotify:artist:6QobJ3vnalBTlsdOrvQTIt">Mikal Cronin</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:3qYfqdVwX0fil71onLpLkh">Thee Oh Sees</a>, along with serving as a backing musician on the albums Mikal Cronin and MCII.

Moothart began the CFM project after breaking up with his longtime girlfriend, retreating to his home studio, and writing songs all by his lonesome. The resulting album, Still Life of Citrus & Slime, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22In+the+Red%22">In the Red</a> in April 2016. While the album was a solo effort, Moothart assembled a touring lineup of CFM, including guitarist Michael Anderson, bassist Tyler Frome, and drummer Thomas Alvarez (of <a href="spotify:artist:3JVDhFfcd5xPsFYJ1am9lM">Audacity</a>). A year later, Moothart returned with Dichotomy Desaturated, featuring the single "Rise and Fall." Moothart beefed up the guitars and added to the band's hard rock undertow with the third CFM LP, 2019's Soundtrack to an Empty Room. ~ Paul Simpson & Mark Deming, Rovi