After releasing their second album,
Haxel Princess, in 2014
Cherry Glazerr underwent a revamp. Vocalist/guitarist
Clementine Creevy restocked the band with new members, turned to a pair of veteran producers in
Joe Chiccarelli and
Carlos de la Garza, and gave their previous grunge-garage sound a slicker, more powerful upgrade. 2017's
Apocalipstick has a powerful wallop earlier albums lacked, with the bass and drums punching through the mix,
Creevy's guitar slashing and crashing, and her vocals showing some growth. Songs sound more fleshed out, both sonically and lyrically, and the arrangements are fuller too. It's a step up from the exciting and weird amateurism of previous releases that proves the band isn't a joke. It also takes them one step closer to sounding like every other band with one foot in the '90s and one foot in the weird rock underground, and despite
Creevy's best efforts,
Apocalipstick comes off sounding a little overdone and generic. For every interesting song like "Told You I'd Be with the Guys," which combines
Creevy's desperately pleading vocals with some jagged guitar playing and a thundering beat, there's a corresponding song like "Instagratification," which has few distinguishing characteristics as it rides a stock guitar riff and basic chord progression to nowhere. This dichotomy plays itself out all through the album, with the high points (the layered grunge pop ballad "Nuclear Bomb" and the synth-led new wave rockers "Lucid Dreams" and Moon Dust") not making up for the anonymous nature of the rest. It's a trade-off that many bands make as they progress, cashing in on the uniqueness of their original sound for something more palatable to the imagined masses. It almost never works out well for the band involved and despite a few bright moments where they almost get it right, it doesn't work for
Cherry Glazerr here. ~ Tim Sendra
