Home Read Now Hear This: Cherry Pickles | The Juice That’s Worth The Squeeze

Now Hear This: Cherry Pickles | The Juice That’s Worth The Squeeze

I'm getting caught up on the good albums that have come out lately. Like this one.

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Conceived over a bucks fizz binge in Birmingham UK early 2018, Cherry Pickles comes at you like the basement band you always wanted to start. Priscila B (guitar, vocals, songwriting) brings from Brazil her love of early Tropicalia and the kind of ‘let’s be bad’ attitude that can only come from a land chock full of Catholic guilt. Mimi B (drums) brings her love of stripped-down, bare-essential rhythm. If two drums are good enough for Peggy O’Neill, then they should definitely be good enough for you.

Together they bonded over a mutual love of ’50s malt-shop-pop, ’60s minimalist garage, no wave, fuzz and all forms of outsider art. ‘Art damaged’ isn’t a slur, it’s a compliment. Anything lost in translation with this transatlantic duo only doubles the charm. Following the band’s storming US debut at SXSW, Cherry Pickles’ debut LP Cherry Pickles Will Harden Your Nipples was released in 2019 and picked up fans all over the world.

Their sophomore album The Juice That’s Worth The Squeeze continues the tradition … their arsenal of thrift-store instruments may have expanded slightly but the enthusiasm and naiveté is still fully intact.This is not some clever re-imagining or ironic take on lo-fi, this is the real deal! All rolled together with gum, glitter and sticky tape the result is slightly wrong-sounding but infectious one-minute-garage-pop with gusto. One guitar, two drums, technique and skill be damned. The message comes through strong — and that message is “Don’t think about it, just cross the line and enjoy it.”