Nasty Cherry reach king status with their latest release – song review
If there’s one band I’m excited to see more of this year, it’s Nasty Cherry. If you haven’t yet heard of them because you live under a rock (still no excuse), the band made their unconventional debut last year as part of the 6-part Netflix docuseries ‘I’m With the Band: Nasty Cherry’ in which Charli XCX attempts to manufacture an all-girl band, from concept to execution, and film the entire process for entertainment purposes. Spoiler alert: it was a success. Their debut EP ‘Season 1’ was met with critical acclaim and enabled them to amass a dedicated cult fanbase of ‘cherries’, resulting in sold out shows across the US and UK (I was there and can attest to them putting on one hell of a SHOW).
Ahead of the highly anticipated follow-up EP, aptly-named ‘Season 2’, set to grace the airwaves on the 19th June, the quartet have recently released two new singles of which the latest is the hard-hitting ‘I Am King’. The track was produced by Dylan Brady of 100 gecs, although you’d be forgiven for any oversights here, with his presence a lot more subtle on this one which allows for the four-piece’s own distinctive character to shine through.
If you’d asked me to describe Nasty Cherry’s sound before this recent bout of releases, I would’ve recounted something along the lines of a Sky Ferreira vs The Runaways love child. But with ‘Shoulda Known Better’ and ‘I Am King’, the band has proved their ability to diversify and come into their own, making it hard to confine them to just one genre.
‘I Am King’ eases you in with stripped back vocals accompanied by a slick bassline. As ever, Gabbriette’s vocals are effortlessly cool – it’s not hard to see why Nasty Cherry are the girl-band of your childhood dreams: you either want to be them or adore them, there is no in-between. At the height of the song, it’s anthemic. The kind of song that redefines what it means to dance in your bedroom alone when no-one’s looking, and will have you aimlessly driving around town air-punching with your friends for 2:28 minutes straight (whilst simultaneously paying strict attention to the road, of course). The lyricism, whilst at times nonsensical, is infectious. I don’t know what “kiki with my kiki” means, but do I wanna “kiki with my kiki” after listening? I think so!?
‘I Am King’ reiterates the inimitable chemistry the foursome has created after only 18 months of being a band, and epitomises girl power. Whatever Nasty Cherry were aiming for with this song, one thing’s for sure: it makes the listener feel like a f*cking king.
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