Cherry Glazerr - Apocalipstick
Drowned In Sound 80
The phrase 'rock star' is fading into anachronism, innit? Used to be, bands with guitars weren’t just big – they were legends, kaleidoscopes of impossible colours, leaders of destinies. Not everyone who plays in a stadium to millions of viewers qualifies as a star that rocks. (Anyone who tuned in to last year’s Superbowl could tell ya that – my favourite gag on Twitter was 'How nice of Beyoncé and Bruno to bring their Über driver on stage!')
Cherry Glazerr, though, must be the real deal. I’ll fight anyone that doesn’t agree. Right now! Come on, get down here. I don’t care if you’re one foot taller and 100 pounds heavier – it’s a dumb idea, and you’ll likely stomp my face in and toss me over the ropes, but I’d do it anyway for the glory and the rush. That’s Apocalipstick in a nutshell: a series of gut instincts, bloody rumbles, and quick thrills, exploded into ruby red projection screens for all the world to see.
I’d attempt to describe what I’m hearing here, but I fear I might just devolve into comic book sound effects: 'Told You I’d Be With The Guys' opens with a BIFF BAM POW! 'Trash People' sneaks up from behind with a WHOOSH! 'Lucid Dreams' swings in with a THUD THUD WHAM! It’s impossible not to, what with the gigantic lurching riffs and Clem Creevy’s righteous vocals. I mean, if RIYLs are more yr bag, I’d say Sleater-Kinney, and probably Tijuana Panthers, and certainly the Pixies, but – where’s the fun in listing names? Where’s the action?! Whenever I’m at 'Sip O’ Poison' in the car, I’m transported into a mad chase scene, where I’m the pursuer and the target is just behind the three slothful trucks in my way.
Now, like many rising rock stars in the modern era, Cherry Glazerr don’t rock from pedestals above their fawning fans. Creevy says it best during the wonky grunge part of 'Trash People': “Art is love and love is sloppy / nothing is all pure, nothing is all dirty”. Well, and also “we wear our underpants three days in a row”. These 'trash people', after all, aren’t real degenerates, just the weirdos that don’t slot into the neat and tidy boxes prescribed for grown-ups with proper grown-up jobs. (Hello, me!) The tidal wave surf of “Humble Pro” is nothing more than a riot in a kitchen – and if you’ve ever lived in a household with a buncha roommates, you know that all good times start in the kitchen.
Not to mention, there’s 'Told You…', which – apart from blasting the doors of Apocalipstick clean off their hinges - could tell the story of yr life. “I WAS A LONE WOLF!” yells Creevy; then, with a resentful howl, adds “Where are my ladies? / I guess that was my fault.” As a life-long tomboy, I know exactly what she’s talking about. When you reject the feminine, you push away from other girls; so when you evolve into an adult that embraces feminism, you find yourself in a dispositional rut, crippled by your own non-girl pride. No one has so succinctly (and wickedly) fessed up to this like Cherry Glazerr – and for that, I wish I could high-five them all.
Honestly, can we just get some skin here? Even the slowest number on Apocalipstick, the topsy-turvy waltz of 'Nuclear Bomb', simmers with battered glee, like grimy grey bathwater fizzling with soap bubbles and steam. Like the best rock stars, Cherry Glazerr stand for the masses – not just the dirty and unloved, but for anyone tired of musicians flaunting hip fashions and parroting obscure philosophies that barely apply to their own art. For those who want to just order in pizza when your friends come over, or those whose wardrobes consist mainly of band t-shirts, or those just want to feel the noise – y’all come hang with Cherry Glazerr.
Thu Dec 14 09:37:09 GMT 2017Pitchfork 74
Four years ago, Los Angeles rock outfit Cherry Glazerr began with then-15-year-old singer/guitarist Clementine Creevy recording bedroom demos under the name Clembutt. These tracks were soon discovered on Soundcloud by Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman, who released them as a tape titled Papa Cremp in 2013. Cherry Glazerr’s lineup soon solidified with the addition of bassist Sean Redman and drummer Hannah Uribe. Around this time, Cherry Glazerr caught the eye of Saint Laurent’s ex-creative director Hedi Slimane, who embraced Creevy as a model and muse, and enlisted the band to soundtrack his debut film and a Fall 2014 Ready-to-Wear show. Then there’s Creevy’s work in the Amazon series “Transparent,” in which she performs in a band called Glitterish (and later Fussy Puss). By the time Cherry Glazerr released their debut LP, 2014’s Haxel Princess, Creevy’s reputation preceded them. All of this was done while she was in high school.
But Creevy has been clear that Cherry Glazerr is her primary passion and the group’s sophomore record (and Secretly Canadian debut), Apocalipstick, confirms this more fiercely than ever. While Haxel Princess was full of goofy and relatable teenage dispatches, Apocalipstick shoots daggers. Now 19, Creevy sounds wizened and ready for battle—and it’s not just because she recorded “Giving Bad People Good Ideas” for Death Grips’ Bottomless Pit. Thanks in part to the production of Joe Chiccarelli (the Strokes) and Carlos De La Garza (Bleached), Creevy and new bandmates Sasami Ashworth (keys/guitar) and Tabor Allen (drums) are a powerful rock trio. But for all this swagger, there’s still the acknowledgement that Cherry Glazerr are “Acting professional/When I’m nothing but a self-conscious child.”
Opener “Told You I’d Be With the Guys” recounts Creevy’s shift from lone wolf to supportive sister, but rather than being an anthem of empowerment, the track feels mournful as it recounts lost time. “I told you, I told you I’d be with the guys,” she howls before doubling back into murmured regret, “But I know better now/Than to be with the guys.” Cherry Glazerr tend to see-saw between extremes of expression: Moments of softness quickly give way to fiery yowls, and one can imagine a packed house of beer-swigging fans losing their minds to it. “Sip O’ Poison” has all the furious drums of No Age. Creevy’s voice, combined with Ashworth’s keys, create a piercing effect like Avey Tare’s clipped yelps on Animal Collective’s “Grass.”
Even the lighter tracks remain rollicking. The re-recorded “Nurse Ratched” offers a brief respite after “Sip O’ Poison” with a steady, shredding jam. “Trash People” and “Moon Dust” are all bubbly synths and incessant drumming, presenting an idea of what the Go-Go’s could have sounded like if Kim Gordon joined their ranks. “Nuclear Bomb” is perhaps Apocalipstick’s mellowest track (you might expect it to be the more appropriately titled “Lucid Dreams”). Creevy takes the sadness from “Told You I’d...” and opens the wound even deeper, digging into the pain of loss with a scalpel and a smile.
It’s been over 30 years since Cherie Currie of the Runaways boasted, “Hello, world! I’m your wild girl/I’m your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!,” giving young women control of a provocative firecracker: themselves. All fruit-related similarities aside, Cherry Glazerr are here to offer a 2017 version of the same energy, one that is sexy, juvenile, catchy, and above all, simply great rock’n’roll. While some argue that guitar music is passé, Cherry Glazerr promise to make you remember how awesome a sick riff can be, how nostalgia can be captured in a single shred, and how anyone can start a band. Always.
Wed Jan 25 06:00:00 GMT 2017