Album Review: 'I Don't Want You Anymore' - Cherry Glazerr

COVID lockdown, as it did for many, left Clementine Creevy with a lot of time to reflect, resulting in Cherry Glazerr’s darkest album yet. 

‘[T]he music I make is always a reflection of where I'm at in life, and what I'm going through,’ the singer/guitarist told Alternative Press It's funny because I was just telling someone that this album specifically might sound like it's the heaviest, darkest thing that I've made — and people have even been like, “Whoa, it's really heavy” — and I think that's true, but I also feel like I was in a worse place mentally in my life when I was writing [2017’s] Stuffed & Ready, the one that I put out before this one.’    An ode to tortured romance and all-consuming obsession, I Don’t Know You Anymore combines the slick, grimy grooves of 2017’s Apocalypstick with the fuzzy, synth-infused rock of Stuffed and Ready, along with a big, heaping dose of snark and sleaze. It’s like the audio equivalent of having an existential crisis while staying in a cheap motel room: The wallpaper peeling, the carpet all brown and matted, crying on the edge of a bed you’d be scared to run a UV light over. 

‘Addicted to Your Love’ aches with a melancholic desire, with Creevy declaring ‘I’d die for you.’ On ‘Soft Like a Flower,’ she admits, ‘I like you killing me.’ ‘Bad Habit’ does a complete 360 with its cybernetic dance pop, lit up in bright, lurid neon as the singer/guitarist likens her love to, well, y’know... ‘Sugar,’ meanwhile, can either be interpreted as a seductive promise or a threat, Creevy’s acid-fuelled self-loathing harking back to the scrappy, lo-fi charm of previous releases like Haxel Princess.    Though most of the tracks on I Don’t Want You Anymore describe a brutal and toxic love affair, they could just as easily apply to Creevy’s relationship with herself, often self-destructive and fatalistic. I’m a very therapeutic writer. It’s all a form of therapy for me,’ says Creevy. ‘I have a complicated relationship with myself. I went through a period of gaslighting myself a lot, because I had gotten into that mode [of] hanging out with people who did that.’     ‘Touched You With My Chaos’ is a rather desperate plea, Creevy breaking down under the weight of bruising riffs as she apologises to the people that ‘I’ve sucked into my world.’ ‘Ready for You’ - easily my favourite track on the album - seemingly revels in the aforementioned sleaze and scuzz, so delightfully menacing at times. But beneath the filth, there’s a world of pain (‘I get choked up/I've got to find my way outta my brain/Don't think that I can get the words out/I've got to find my way outta my brain/Up against me now’), Creevy ultimately at war with her own mind.    Eventually, though, the singer/guitarist comes to a grudging truce with her anxieties and insecurities. ‘Shattered’ contributes to a more psychedelic second half of the record, written in the aftermath of family drama when Creevy came to co-producer Yves Rothman ‘bawling’ and ‘crying.’    Interesting detours like the glitchy and fluttering nu-jazz of ‘Golden’ and the swirling Tame Impala-esque ‘Eat You Like a Pill,’ with its lush synth work and limber bass, also deliver on the dark yet kooky humour and wordplay that Creevy has long made her own. ‘Wild Times’ is especially fun, its woozy New Wave feeling like a much grimier take on city pop. Seriously, Make City Pop Grunge Again... for the First Time.    I Don’t Want You Anymore is one big filthy rock exorcism, Creevy tearing into the emotional viscera with a hurricane force. It’s messy, brutally human and downright ugly at times but also rather fun, effortlessly swerving between grooves. Rock hasn’t felt this exciting in a while, and it’s a shame that bands who serve up sweaty, ramshackle garage rock in spades like Cherry Glazerr, Slothrust and Bully are (still) so wildly underrated, sounding a hell of a lot rawer and more interesting than what the rock scene is delivering nowadays... 

I definitely want more of this... 

- Bianca B.

Isn’t ‘Bluetooth Hell’ just when your connection keeps dropping out?

Riddled with scrappy, lo-fi charm, Glasgow indie band Dancer turn modern angst into a light and springy cut of rollicking garage rock. Frontwoman Georgia Fleet cute through the fuzz with biting snark and wit, sometimes bordering on the absurd with her delightful sing-speak as she longs for a much simpler time, when love wasn’t complicated by the threat of a DM being left on ‘read’ or an unsolicited dick pic... ꒰•⌓•꒱

- Bianca B. 

h. pruz explores that murky and confusing grey area of love on her latest single, ‘Dawn.’ 

Led by twinkling keys and a gentle sweep of snares, Hannah Pruzinsky’s sweet folk pop lullaby is filled with soft and desperate yearning as the singer/songwriter slips even deeper into her lovesick reverie, weaving pure poetry throughout its gorgeous layers. The synthesised flute towards the end also adds to the magic, evoking the sound of birds in an early morning chorus. 

Says Pruzinsky (via Stereogum): 

‘‘Dawn’ intends to capture that transition point between utter naive infatuation and falling into trusting a person [...] That in-between ‘point’ of love seems to be more of a dragging ellipsis for me. I initially wanted to play with space and silence in this song to underline that, but then the instrumental chorus became just as full of longing and doubt as any words or space.’ 

h. pruz upcoming debut album, No Glory, is out now. 

- Bianca B. 

SCANDAL’s latest single ‘Plum’ is definitely as sweet as it sounds. 

The iconic J-rock girl band deliver a rather upbeat and infectious ode to heartbreak, feeling very 2000s with its sparkling and super-glossy groove. 

When translated, the lyrics are oddly heartfelt and delightfully kooky, making a discarded tissue metaphor feel strangely poetic and relatable. References to blood, hair and skin, entwined with a desperate need to be loved, also offer a charmingly human element into the mix. 

Click the link and read the lyrics in the YouTube comments for yourself! (◠‿◠✿)

SCANDAL’s new album, LUMINOUS, is out now. 

- Bianca B. 

Rachel Chinouriri strips things back on her timely new single, ‘What a Devastating Turn of Events.’

Against a plain dark backdrop, the British singer tells a rather harrowing tale over a slick 90s-style groove, starting off as a typical heartbreak narrative until Chinouriri begins delving into much darker subject matter, including forced pregnancy, loss of bodily autonomy and suicide, a dark reality for many women after the repealing of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Chinouriri explains the inspiration behind the track (via The Line of Best Fit):

'This song is one of my saddest but proudest achievements. It’s personal and based around a true story. It’s the tragic story of a girl who is a similar age to me. I think with every step of her journey, someone somewhere can understand the feelings she felt to some degree. Whether it’s to do with relationships, friendships, neglect, motherhood, depression, rejection, battling internal hatred or suicidal thoughts … I feel like this is something most people can relate to.'

'The decision to take her own life is something many people have contemplated and her life was almost the perfect storm to create that environment which is heartbreaking. Without the right support or understanding around you, people can feel trapped and it’s sad she ever made this choice. Her story deserves to be told and I hope more people know that this is a feeling that many people have felt and you should always ask for help.'

Yet another sad reminder that we all deserve to live with dignity, to be in control of our own bodies and to have access to lifesaving healthcare and other resources, no matter the circumstances.

Rachel Chinouriri's debut album, What A Devastating Turn Of Events, is out May 3 via Parlophone/Atlas Artists.

- Bianca B. 

YAAAAASSS hunny, let those 90s RnB vibes FLO...  

On ‘Walk Like This,’ the London trio are strutting and strutting hard, walking with a swing in their hips thanks to a hot new crush. Everything about this track is a delicious throwback, from the sublime harmonies to that thicc, juicy bass groove. So’s the video, featuring a seamless dance routine and leather-heavy fashions like they came straight outta Mary J’s wardrobe.  

Says the group (via Stereogum):  

'We made “Walk Like This” with our frequent and loved collaborators MNEK, Ashton Sellars, Kabba, Relyt and Talay Riley. It was the end of 2023 and we wanted to create something sexy, still fun and upbeat and for the certified lover girl in us all. The song is about that energy you have when you embrace your sensuality and womanhood. It’s okay to admit a man’s doing well from time to time! We hope it makes you feel confident, a bit naughty and adds that extra sway to your walk.'  

I rate this whole thing a 1999/10 (✿◠‿◠) 

- Bianca B.   

So I’ve had A LOT to say about the direction Maggie Rogers’ music has taken these past couple of years, seemingly toning down on the idiosyncrasies that made her debut single, ‘Alaska’ (the song that made Pharrell cry!) so special.  

‘Don’t Forget Me,' the first single from Rogers’ upcoming album of the same name, was pretty forgettable, the kind of adult contemporary dreck you probably would’ve heard coming out of your radio/CD player combo back in 1995. Her latest, however...  

‘Sick of Dreaming’ remains firmly in the middle of the road, but something about it feels a lot more fun and easygoing - that country twang, that classic rock groove, that breezy ‘oh-woah-oh’ hook. Even the spoken-word section has some charm, with Rogers recounting the time she ditched out on a shitty date (‘So he calls me up 15 minutes before the reservation/And says he’s got Knicks tickets instead/I mean, I was at the restaurant!” she says in the song. “So I took the steaks to go, I had two martinis at the bar/And went to meet my friends down the street’).  

For once, the singer/songwriter doesn’t seem to be overthinking things... Hopefully the rest of the album is just as good.  

Maggie Rogers’ Don’t Forget Me is out April 12. Read the review for her 2022 album, Surrender, here.  

- Bianca B. 

To say Rico Nasty and Boyz Noize’s latest collab goes hard is an understatement.  

‘Arintintin’ takes me back to the throbbing, fast-paced Eurodance I remember hearing as a kid during the 90s, Rico basically revelling in the delicious electroclash of it all as she declares in eerily determined fashion: 'Face down, ass up, I ain't going home.'  

Says Rico (via Stereogum):  

'Me and Boys Noize started working back in 2018… We finally met in real life after being mutuals for like a year. We did one session, it was fire! And then a few months later ended up on the Friendship Cruise together (for the first time). After the cruise, we made “Money” (feat. Flo Milli) and “1+1” — a song you’ll hear very soon on this project. Fast forward again, maybe 3-4 years, and we did a couple more sessions. We kept gravitating towards techno dance music. He started putting me on to German dance music, and we traded a bunch of songs back and forth. Little by little over a few days, we ended up making three more songs that we really loved and decided we wanted to share with the world. Every session was so much fun and I’m sure that energy is felt across all of these tracks. One of my favorite songs on the project is… all of them. That’s why she is so short!! Talk to you later and see you guys soon.'  

I listened to Rico’s ‘IPHONE’ a lot during lockdown when it was released all the way back in the Dark Ages of 2020, so I love it when she goes full hyper-electro pop... (◠‿◠✿)  

Rico Nasty and Boyz Noize’s HVRDCORE DR3WMZ EP is out March 29.  

- Bianca B. 

girl in red’s upcoming album is called I’m Doing It Again, Baby. And yet, her latest single is called ‘Doing It Again, Baby,’ which kinda qualifies as a title track, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In true girl in red fashion, the song throws in a little bit of everything - punchy 00s pop, pulsating dance, snazzy art rock, even a bit of a country twang. It’s rather defiant and brimming with confidence, in stark contrast to previous girl in red tracks, as the Norwegian singer rolls with the boys all decked out in Japanese denim and loafers, ‘looking like a rockstar from the 70s.’

So basically ,girl in red’s on a totally new level and loving this new self esteem, which is really great to hear... (◠‿◠✿)

girl in red’s I’m Doing It Again Baby! is out April 12 via Columbia. Read the review for her debut album, If I Could Make It Go Quiet, here. 

- Bianca B.

It’s a strange world out there... but we’ll be fine (◠‿◠✿)  

La Luz turn pandemic pandemic-era anxiety into fun and cheesy B-grade sci-fi in their latest video, the band fing theselves trapped in some sort of suburban dystopia that they eventually escape via some sort of space vortex via their fridge, before taking the form of a council of space noir dictators that were once separate beings that ruled over them, creating a kind of circular narrative that sees the band taking on their final forms, and...  

You know what, I’ve got no fucking idea. It’s spacey and it’s camp, that’s all you need to know. And is it me, or has most of the band's lineup changed?? ⊙﹏⊙  

‘It’s been a strange and difficult few years, and at moments, I have found myself rushing to move forward in time, to leave the present and escape to whatever is next,’ notes bandleader Shana Cleveland (via Stereogum). ‘The best advice a friend gave me during a time when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and battling consecutive panic attacks was to go outside, take my shoes off, and sit with my feet on the earth. This seemed to slow the universe down in a way that made it feel easier to handle. So this chorus is something of a mantra to myself ‘we’ll be fine, just take your time.’  

La Luz’s new album, News of the Universe, is out May 24 via Sub Pop.  

- Bianca B. 

Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while...  

Despite being reduced to a two-piece after the departure of bassist Ade Martín and drummer Amber Grimbergen, Spanish band Hinds seem pretty mellow on their latest single, ‘Coffee,’ a scrappy pop charmer that celebrates the girls' love of coffee (duh), cigarettes and 'flowers from boys that I'm not sleeping with,' helping to get the adrenaline running by performing a few motorcycle stunts (Nothing too dangerous, but still pretty gnarly...)  

The duo describes the track as 'a sincericide, screaming the nasty truth as loud as you can with no shame. It’s about admitting to all the things you’re not supposed to like or doing all the things you’re not meant to do,” they shared in a statement. “It’s a lot of fun when you can be fully honest and shut that little voice in your head that tells you what you should or shouldn’t do.'  

Vroom, vroom, but in Spanish... (◠‿◠✿) 

- Bianca B. 

Album Review - 'Aperture' - Hannah Jadagu

Hannah Jadagu’s debut EP was a quiet revelation. 

Armed with a guitar, an iPhone and an iRig, the Texas-born singer/songwriter produced a restless and often solitary coming of age with her 2021 EP, What is Going On?  

‘My Bones’ is deceptively serene, Jadagu expressing her fears about becoming yet another statistic in the wake of George Floyd’s murder as the countless missing persons cases involving Black women across the US weigh heavy on her psyche. ‘Think Too Much,’ another standout track, saw Gen Z anxiety set against a shoegazey backdrop, while ‘Bleep Bloop’ found Jadagu feeling overwhelmed in the pandemic era. 

Although the singer/songwriter expands her sonic horizons on her first full-length album, Aperture, Jadagu’s raw, angst-fuelled lyricism beautifully remain. 

Opening the record with a soaring, wistful ‘Explanation,’ Jadagu soon reintroduces is to her anxieties on the bittersweet 90s groove of ‘Say It Now.’ ‘I've been trying to find the line/Is it best if I don’t try?’ she asks. ‘Should I have called? Nervousness won/Now I'm picking up the pieces, something went wrong.’  

It’s been said that the breakdown of a friendship can be just as emotionally devastating as a romantic breakup, sometimes more so. Jadagu herself likens ‘Say It Now’ to experiencing the stages of grief in a breakdown of Aperture on Apple Music. The sequel track, ‘What You Did,’ however, finds the singer/songwriter in a stronger and more secure place, led by a determined chug of guitars that feel almost industrial at times, providing a jagged contrast to its dreamier verses. 

Elsewhere, Jadagu is crushing hard (‘Lose’), coating a New Wave-style pulse with a jaded 90s indie grime, and dreaming on a Sunday (‘Dreaming’), evoking early Incubus with a hip hop/alt-rock fusion. She sounds almost SZA-esque on ‘Warning Sign’ with her softer vocals and slick, jazzy groove, setting a late-night mood perfect for ruminating. ‘Place me in a space that's not there/Am I supposed to say, "I don't care"?’ she wonders, trying to remain grounded in such an unpredictable and volatile industry, feeling the pressure to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes along. 

The big standout, though, is ‘Admit It.’ Dedicated to her older sister, Tymie, the track is made up of synthesised pipes and slippery, discordant beats, with Jadagu’s gentle vocals ring out from the dreamy deep, trying to reach out as best as she can (' I will admit I want to be there for you/All of the times that you have helped me through/Hate that you think that I would just ignore you/Second to breathe will get me back in tune’). It instantly calls to mind the hazy and heartfelt nostalgia of The Japanese House, who Jadagu cites as an influence. 

The emotional one-two punch of ‘Letter to Myself’ and ‘Your Thoughts Are Ur Own Obstacles’ provides a perfect end to Aperture. The former is stark and strangely comforting, almost dreamlike with its crystalline synths; the latter sways gently in her breeze with its resplendent harmonies, making the mundane feeling rather whimsical. ‘Yesterday, I called my friends all up again/They didn't know, but I was steady caving in/Forgot my thoughts for long enough, thanks to them,’ she tells herself, painfully relatable for anyone out there who has felt their mental fabric slowly begin to unravel. 

Wonderfully lush and atmospheric, Aperture sees a more mature Jadagu coming into focus as she transitions from adolescence to adulthood. The production is richer and more fleshed-out, with producer Max Robert Baby proving well-attuned to Jadagu’s indie sensibilities, while her writing still has that raw, diary-like charm to it, finding immense strength in her vulnerability.  

Much like her previous EP, Aperture is the perfect soundtrack to a restless coming of age.  

fanclubwallet are feeling a few growing pains on their latest single.  

Cruising at a rather wistful pace, vocalist/guitarist Hannah Judge jumps between the perspectives of her younger and present self, marvelling at just how much things have changed (‘Is it easy/For you?/I can't explain/How you do’). Dreamy guitar swells and eerie synths also elevate the track’s nostalgic feel, harking back to the bittersweet indie pop of the 00s.  

Says Judge (via Stereogum):  

'“Easy” is all about growing pains. I had been thinking about my younger self, who was so debilitatingly shy, and wondering what she’d think about me now playing music on a stage in front of so many people. It kind of bounces back and forth between me and the perspective of my younger self; contemplating the differences and wondering how things have changed as I’ve grown up. I think a lot of people wonder how their younger self would feel about them now. I think the chorus guitar swells on this song sound like a rusty swing set dug up from the past.'  

fanclubwallet's upcoming EP, Our Bodies Paint Traffic Lines, is out March 29 on Cool Online.    

- Bianca B. 

Spaced’s latest single ‘Rat Race’ is the kinda misfit anthem that makes you wanna punch someone in the fucking face.

Complete with a vicious, crunching groove and the caustic growl of frontwoman Lexi Reyngoudt, the track calls out conformity and takes aim at those hellbent on telling others how to live their lives, proving rather timely, depending on what part of the world you happen to live in at the moment...

Needless to say, it’s a nice, grimy ‘fuck you’ to every Karen and aspiring tyrant just dying to make the world an even shittier place.

Says Reyngoudt (via Stereogum):

'There will always be someone who tries to dictate how you live your life and will tell you what you’re doing ‘wrong.’ The best way to go about that? Tell them you don’t care and continue to be yourself.'

Spaced’s debut album, This Is All We Ever Get, is out March 22 via Revelation Records.

- Bianca B. 

MICHELLE is the name of the band, not a person, fyi.  

Their latest single ‘NEVER AGAIN’ is a balmy yet bittersweet little ditty with alight bossa nova groove, filled with nostalgic longing as its tender melody gently sweeps across the coastline. The video is also pretty fitting, with the NYC-based collective hitting the shore and even performing the song while submerged in the ocean.  

MICHELLE’s new EP, GLOW, is out now via Transgressive Records.

- Bianca B. 

So I’m guessing SZA’s new single refers to Saturn’s Return, an astrological phenomenon that occurs in your late 20s, with the planet making its first full journey around the sun and returning to the same place it was when you were born.  

Debuted during this year’s Grammys, the starry-eyed ‘Saturn’ sets a soft, delicate whirl of glittering synths atop a bass-fuelled groove as the singer longs to escape to a whole new planet entirely, dreaming of a better world (‘Stuck in this paradigm/Don't believe in paradise/This must be what Hell is like/There's got to be more, got to be more’).  

It’s super existential, hinting at a spacey new direction for SZA, the track slated to appear on her upcoming album, LANA... or on the deluxe version of SOS, it’s kinda unclear ��‍♀️  

In the meantime, read the review for SZA’s SOS here.  

- Bianca B. 

Dallon Weekes wants to listen to you whisper to him and watch bad movies with you on IDKHow's latest single, 'Downside.'  

The singer/multi-instrumentalist is absolutely gaga for his mystery lover, fuelling his desperate longing into a rather upbeat number that recalls the jangling Brit rock of the mid-late 80s with a punkish edge. And with the slight theatrical streak, the track also gives me some early Brobecks vibes...  

Says Weekes (via AXS):  

'Sometimes we become so enamored with a romantic partner that, for better or for worse, it can be difficult to see the negative aspects of the relationship. Even if you’re looking for them,” says Weekes … “It turned into a song about trying to find the downside in a relationship, but you’re so enamored that you’re unable or unwilling to.'  

IDKHow’s GLOOM DIVISION is out now. Read the review for 2020’s Razzmatazz here.  

- Bianca B.