CD of The Week

Cherry Glazerr - Stuffed & Ready (Secretly Canadian)

The past six years has been an amazing time for women in music. An overwhelming majority of acts that have broken onto the scene have been female fronted or all-girl bands, which is a fantastic thing. Cherry Glazerr has been riding the wave of empowerment, encouragement and positivity in these changing times. Singer Clementine Creevy began recording at 15 and has not stopped since.

Many things have changed along the way for her and the band. They are now a three-piece, her hypnotic voice has gained confidence, and her lyrics have grown away from silliness and vague statements into deeper introspective and personal feelings. In a recent Stereogum interview, Creevy talked about the new album, Stuffed & Ready. "The record is an expression of a well of feelings that I have, my most visceral feelings really…I didn't realize until after I finished the album that I've been struggling with growing up."

Her single "Daddi" for example, is a satire on how hard it is to grow up with male permission forced upon her. She lashes out at "Daddi," a metaphorical stand-in for all that is controlling and repressive. In the watery dream-pop verse, she asks for his opinion and consent on where to go, what to say, or if she can play (among other things…), which builds to an explosively irritated chorus of "don't hold my hand / don't be my man."

Musically, almost every song takes on the same recipe, where Creevy's hypnotic, entrancing vocals are book-ended with bursts of emotion and exploration of feelings.  Singles "Wasted Nun" and "Juicy Socks" follow this templatic manner, sounding like reprises of each other. Creevy's delicate vocals, juxtaposed against sloppy, fuzzy grunge guitars, grow with rage as "Stupid Fish" ends, which is a slight variation to the formula. However, the middle two songs "Self Explained" and "Isolation" play out in a slower nature, recalling a jazziness similar to Portishead thanks to the skipping drum beats and dark bass line.

What the album does well is deliver raw, intimate energy on a roller-coaster of melody harking back to alternative music days.  The songs can feel a bit samey, but the listener walks away with the feeling that they joined a woman's journey in figuring out life, through bouts of angst and eruptions of frustration all with limited resolve. If you have the heart, go see her play with Sneaks at the First Unitarian Church this Valentine's Day.

**Donate $20 or more to Y-Not Radio to receive a copy of Stuffed & Ready. Click here for details.

Review by Shepard Ritzen