The winds of Motown must be blowing strong over Detroit, as it seems every band in the area is pulling on its influence. Such is the case with Outrageous Cherry, whose sparse retro rock lyrics and fuzzy guitar work sound like close cousins to the Von Bondies and the White Stripes. Though not quite as infectious as their aforementioned neighbors, the band manages to put together a few snappy samples of pop perfection.
The catchy up beat choruses, and retro sounding lyrics are rife with intentional irony from start to finish. The irony is particularly evident on the album‚s cover art, featuring a pack of gum labeled as love which ties right in route with the snappy three minute pop songs. Just like chewing gum, the love depicted on each track is short, sweet, and disposable. The mindless sugar sweet pop tone seems to be every bit intentional, according to release materials Smith admits that for the band’s original concept he “envisioned the Archies, if Leonard Cohen had written their songs to pay the rent.”
The snappy brevity of each track comes as a welcome change after the long-winded experiments that comprised 2002’s “The Book of Spectral Projections.” This time the band is more polished; catchy melodies slide smoothly out of lead singer Matthew Smith’s mouth as bassist Courtney Sheedy adds a slinking undertone.
While none of the ”love” expressed on the album seems strong enough or significant enough to change the world, it’s a nice trip nonetheless. |