Cherry Glazerr, in a word, is kick-ass. The female-fronted alternative punk rock band’s newest record, “Apocalipstick,” is proof of that. An album packed with fuzzy and aggressive guitar riffs, and lead singer and guitarist Clementine Creevy’s emotional and, sometimes screechy (in a good way), vocals makes their third record a great continuation in their catalogue for a bright future.
The California-based band reminds me of a more upbeat and cleaner, modern version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a rock band that was more prominent during the early 2000s and whose most popular song, “Maps,” might have (hopefully) glistened your ears sometime in your life. The comparisons are ideal between the two because of how closely alike they sound, right down to the percussion, the heavy emphasis on electric guitars and the vocals.
With that said, Cherry Glazerr definitely maintained their own identity with “Apocalipstick,” in a sense that you don’t often hear from a grungy female-fronted punk rock band in the modern era.
Right from the top comes the edgy anthem “Told You I’d Be with the Guys,” which finds Creevy lamenting how lost and alone she is without her girlfriends amongst the garage rock-inspired guitar riffs, only to realize the guys she has been siding with are no good for her. The upbeat final moments of the song see Creevy’s epiphany about how “necessary” it is “to give a lady love.” It not only becomes an important anthem for woman solidarity but also the types of topics Cherry Glazerr tackles head on.
The band comes to satirize the lifestyle of certain millennials in “Trash People” and feel the emotional scars of depression and isolation in the passionate “Nuclear Bomb,” which comes across as the clear highlight of the album, right next to the epic and final titular track of the album, the aptly named, “Apocalipstick” due to the instrumental-only literal “apocalyptic” rock nature of the song.
Creevy’s vocals add a much needed depth to their songs. Her voice goes along perfectly with the instrumentation. As mentioned before, she can go from soft and vulnerable in “Nuclear Bomb” to loud and obnoxious in “Sip O’ Poison,” the track most reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And that’s where the screechy aspect of her voice comes in. Along with “Sip O’ Poison,” “Instagratification” finds Creevy’s voice to be super raw, making that “screechy” aspect come alive. This aspect makes the music more emotional and passionate and is, ideally, the best feature of the band and the album. The fact that she can quickly change from these loud and obnoxious vocals to something so clean and smooth definitely makes the album a more satisfying listen.
With a third album under their belt, Cherry Glazerr ultimately stands out thanks to Creevy’s passionate vocals and the blaring guitar riffs spread throughout. With the added importance of the messages found in their songs, “Apocalipstick,” is overall a very healthy album that adds great new songs to the band’s repertoire.
