Outrageous Cherry - Seemingly Solid Reality
by Carl Bookstein
published: 5 / 7 / 2010
Label:
Alive Naturalsound
Format: CD
intro
Compelling merging of 60's psychedelic rock and indie pop on latest album from Detroit rockers, Outrageous Cherry
On their new album 'Seemingly Solid Reality', Outrageous Cherry creates a sound that is at once reminiscent of the 1960s as well as innovative and new. Outrageous Cherry’s guitars both jangle and reverberate. 'Seemingly Solid Reality' mixes psychedelic rock with current indie pop for a result that is truly substantial. Named after a bright red hair dye, Detroit’s Outrageous Cherry began recording in 1992 and then started playing live in 1993. The current band is Matthew Smith on vocals, guitar, organ and synthesizer, Larry Ray on lead guitar, Sean Ellwood on bass and Samantha Linn on drums. The opening number, 'Seemingly Solid Reality' starts ominously with swirling synthesizer that comes on like an airplane from overhead. The effect of this purely instrumental opener is both psychedelic and beautiful, as the album gets off to a great start. On 'Unbalanced in the City' which includes appealing reverberating guitars, Outrageous Cherry seems to be speaking to the troubled dilapidated city of Detroit: “The truth of it ain’t pretty.” Smith's vocal on 'Fell' brings to mind the Beach Boys, yet it has a grittier instrumental. As the album progresses, 'Odyssey and Oracle', the 1960's masterpiece by the Zombies also comes to mind. On 'The Happy Hologram' the lyrics are evocative: “Gargoyles of madness await/Perched to swoop down and get straight.” 'Forces of Evil' starts with killer guitar that repeats, laced between the lines of lyrical imagery about evil, including “psychic slaughterhouses” and “patriotic appeal.”. 'Seemingly Solid Reality' is sonically gratifying throughout. 'Unamerican Girls' with its mesmerizing drum beat showcases a band that is clearly in synch. The album ends strongly with 'The Unimportant Things', a somewhat mournful ballad of regret that hits an emotional note: “The unimportant things stretch from nowhere to never/Designed by chance perhaps to trouble you forever.” This universal song is put forth with a compelling vocal that speaks to “The sun, the moon, the stars.” In the end Outrageous Cherry with 'Seemingly Solid Reality' have created a great indie psych rock album. This is a band truly worth discovering.
Track Listing:-
1 Seemingly Solid Reality2 Unbalanced In The City
3 Fell
4 My Ghetto
5 Self-Made Monster
6 The Happy Hologram
7 Nothing's Changed
8 Forces Of Evil
9 I Like It
10 Unamerican Girls
11 The Unimportant Things
Label Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/AliveNaturalsoundRecordshttp://www.alive-records.com/
https://twitter.com/AliveRecords
https://instagram.com/alivenaturalsound/
https://www.youtube.com/user/JIMalive1
live reviews |
Bumper's Roadhouse, Ottawa, 17/6/2003 |
Andrew Carver watches garage rockers Outrageous Cherry's "very satisfying performance" come to a natural close as a result of changes in Ottawa's smoking by-laws |
Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ottawa, 27/2/2003 |
reviews |
Our Love Will Change The World (2005) |
Seventh album from Outrageous Cherry, which finds the Detroit rockers moving away from their psychedelic roots towards a more poppier sound |
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesPhilip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Deep Purple - =1
Bill Wyman - Drive My Car
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart