Ellen Cherry
The Ellen Cherry Primer
Ellen Cherry
Reasons to dislike this CD before putting it in the player: #1: Ellen Cherry is not a woman, but a band name: the female singer, who writes all the lyrics, is Kristin Putchinski. (It’s like Jethro Tull.) #2: The cartoony cover and booklet art, done by drummer Drew Moody, is so awful and cutesy that most people will never ever pick this album up except to say, “I bet this band really sucks.” #3: The word “primer” should never be used anywhere around rock and roll.
Reasons to dislike this CD after putting it in the player: #1: The complete incongruity between all that pixiestix art and the moody contemplative songs on the disc. I mean, damn, who the hell are you marketing this shit to? Kids or adults? #2: Kristin P’s voice, appealing enough in its own way, is often flat, and no one told her. Listen to her on “Sun’s Afire.” Producer Spencer Chakedis must be laughing his ass off. #3: Her frequent lyrical clinkers, which stand out in the middle of otherwise pretty good songs like “Sleep on It,” which contains some stuff that just don’t make no sense: “I beg for your forgiveness / Let’s sleep on it tonight / Come on, let’s not fight.”
Reasons to like this CD after all: #1: Any band this unafraid to push all the wrong buttons must have something going on. #2: They’re actually a pretty good-sounding trio, even the drummer/cartoonist guy. #3: “The Meanest Waltz” and “The Fist Song” aren’t bad at all. #4: Because I’m really a positive person, despite being a big cynical asshole record reviewer.
Ellen Cherry: http://www.ellencherry.com
