THE CHERRIES “The Cherries”
(Dirty Rabbit Records)




Who does West Coast power pop right? The Cherries does West Coast power pop right. You can’t not smile at the overdriven guitar action. It’s like if The Ramones opened up for The Donnas back in 2000. I saw a band that was punk-poppy that opened up for The Donnas in Atlanta in 2000. They wore matching outfits and did goofy synchronized dance moves. I can’t remember their name. I imagine The Cherries would do synchronized dance moves if they could. Maybe they do. Did I mention how much I hate Atlanta? Sometimes The Cherries sound like Weezer, but more lo-fi. They’re probably cuddly nerds. At any rate, the eleven songs fly by too fast. They’re short and there’s not a dull one in the bunch. The melodies are sweet and not overly complicated. You can relax to The Cherries. Is that weird, relaxing to power pop/pop punk? Is music indebted to the late 1990s early 2000s that was indebted to the early 1980s that was indebted to the 1960s considered classic rock yet? If so, then The Cherries are classic rock. They make the music that you like that your parents also like that you hate that your parents like but you still like it anyway and secretly blast it on the car stereo while your parents take you to JV soccer practice. You’d never tell your friends that.




--Ryan Masteller