by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Philadelphia's Cherry hit the sweet spot where power-pop and slacker fuzz-punk meet, blending together enormous guitar tones with even bigger melodies. Similar to the hometown DIY bands before them, the quintet create weary pop tunes with layers of hazy guitars, fuzzed out solos, and inescapable hooks of pure gold. Where their peers (Spirit of the Beehive, Sun Organ) tend to get muddy, Cherry aim for a bright clarity. It's as radio friendly as it is basement show friendly, and you're going to want to sing along. Trust me. Set to release Dumbness, their full length debut, on September 29th via Lame-O Records, the band have made one of those albums you feel like you've been listening to your whole life.
"Forever Overhead," the record's third single is Cherry at their punchiest, Lame-O's own Eric Osman pounding away at a simple groove, the waves of distorted guitars filling in every last semblance of empty space. Thick as a brick, there's an undeniable density to the mountainous guitars, but at its core, Cherry embrace pop, using the wall of sound to strengthen their shimmering vocal melodies rather than bury them. Russell Edling's (ex-Kite Party) lyrics celebrate youthful indiscretion, singing, "I was in my parent's bedroom / I was paging through dirty magazines / I'd never seen a body folded up like that / I guess that's what "I love you" means". It's an interesting take away on a track that's eternally pulling between blown out fuzz and slick pop; an ode to finding child like innocence in less than innocent situations.
They don't call Philadelphia "The Big Cherry" for nothing. * It's like there's something in the water.
Cherry's Dumbness is out September 29th via Lame-O Records.
* perhaps someone calls it that. we can't know for sure.