CHERRY GLAZERR

ALT-J U&ME

The trio’s first new music since 2018’s remix album ‘Reduxer’, ‘U&ME’ feels more like a warm up for the main event than a big comeback single proper. The classic alt-J tropes are out in full force - Joe Newman’s immediately recognisable vocal tripping over obscure tongue twisters (“Flashing in the dark, my luminescent tongue…”) as languid, strangely sultry backing dances around him; aside from an instrumental string section burst, we’re in familiar territory. Which is to say that ‘U&ME’ is a solid reminder of why alt-J have quietly become a very big band, but also that after three years away, we reckon they’ve got a few more tricks up their sleeve yet. (Lisa Wright)

LET’S EAT GRANDMA Hall Of Mirrors

Having graduated from purposefully rickety beginnings on debut ‘I, Gemini’ to the more fleshed out, widescreen world of 2018’s ‘I’m All Ears’, ‘Hall of Mirrors’ marks another step forward for Norwich BFFs Let’s Eat Grandma - a dizzying trip through the exciting first flashes of new romance, and one of their most straightforward (a good thing) offerings yet. Where their early steps pushed the quirks at all costs, their latest is a pulsing headrush that channels the feel of the fairground to describe the sensory overload of crushing hard; it’s relatable, evocative and shows that LEG have fully outgrown needing tricks to get their point across. (Lisa Wright)

AMBER MARK - WHAT IT IS

Wondering about the meaning of life isn’t exactly new lyrical territory when it comes to songwriting, but there’s something wonderfully liberating about Amber Mark’s fresh new take on the much-pondered question. A slinky confessional of a track, ‘What It Is’ is a rich and shimmering cut from the singer’s long-anticipated debut, that sees her existential thoughts paired with slick R&B beats and funky guitars. “Feel it in my bones / Oh I’ve got to know / Tell me what it is,” she reasons with the universe. She may not quite have this riddle figured out just yet, but on ‘Three Dimensions Deep’, we’re willing to bet she’s got some wisdom of her own to offer up. (Sarah Jamieson)

YEARS & YEARS Crave

The second taste of forthcoming third album ‘Night Call’, ‘Crave’ is a surreal trip into another world that’s equal parts luscious, moody, and irresistible, Olly Alexander’s vocals weaving and winding around the sultry instrumental, an electrotinged beating heart that palpitates with synth and shimmer. ‘Crave’ effortlessly balances the line between darkness and delight, replete with an appropriately sensual, strange video - Years & Years are back and just as ambitious, and their return is already entrancing. (Ims Taylor)

IDLES The Beachland Ballroom

Heading into their fourth album in as many years, the prolific rate at which IDLES work could be a curse as much as a blessing; progression generally takes time, and time is something the Bristolians rarely seem to afford themselves. And so the fact that lead single ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ is genuinely, markedly different from anything they’ve penned before - a soulful, warm lilt helmed by a vocal performance by Joe Talbot that swaps the belligerence for something altogether softer - feels quite remarkable. ‘Ultra Mono’ might have stoked the kindling of backlash; their return should earn them nothing but praise. (Lisa Wright)

I have a philosophy to trust my "audience, and if I wanna make changes they’ll be ready for those changes.” - CLEMENTINE CREEVY

What’s Going On With… CHERRY GLAZERR

Clementine Creevy talks working with Four Tet, getting back on

the stage and trusting her gut (and her fans). Words: Ims Taylor.

Hi Clem - how are things with you?

Kind of weird, cos it’s been slightly normal? We had a show a few weeks ago at the Greek Theatre [in LA], and that’s my favourite venue ever. I was like, ‘Oh man, I think I might have forgotten how to play guitar’. But you just fall back into it when you start playing the show, like muscle memory.

Your new music has a slightly more electronic skew compared to your older stuff - how did it feel playing live?

I think it actually pairs really well with the old material, because it’s just as heavy and very sonically aligned with stuff that I’ve done in the past, but it’s very different production-wise. It’s given the show a nice variation that I actually feel like it was lacking before, now that I’m thinking about it. We played a bunch [of material] that isn’t even released yet, and one of the tracks I’ve been doing with Four Tet went over really well.

Four Tet! Exciting – what else can we expect from your new sound?

I was listening to a lot of alternative house and techno; weird alt-pop, lots of beats-based music, and I just couldn’t help but incorporate that into the new sound. I have a philosophy to trust my audience, and if I wanna make changes they’ll be ready for those changes. I just tried to really follow my muses, and not worry about everything around ‘changing your sound’. I’m having fun with it, it feels really true to my spirit right now - last night I was up until 3am recording a crazy, Deftones rock song! running to the studio with whatever feelings have come up. I’ve written songs borne from watching Mysterious Skin, which is this early ‘00s movie with Joseph Gordon Levitt. It’s really heavy but it’s amazing, still really fun and stylised.

What are the red threads that connect your current music to old Cherry Glazer?

For some reason, no matter what, it always sounds like me - even when I try to do something very different! As an artist, you always think you’re doing something so different when really it’s just more of you. I do have this sense of melody and harmony that’s very specific to me, that’s what the north star is across my music. I think I’ve set a precedent for being the type of artist who is a bit unexpected - I’m always exploring different types of sounds, and I think I’ve guided people to expect that.

You trust your fans and they trust you - does that make it easier to challenge yourself, and them?

That makes me wanna cry because it’s really sweet! I feel there’s a real symbiosis between my fans and I. I think that challenging myself often comes from being as open as I can in collaborations; I can get very specific and tunnel vision about what I want the music to be, so collaboration is where I challenge myself and where a lot of really great stuff comes from. Probably my best stuff. I went through a lot of personal changes that were really necessary for myself recently, and I feel like that’s really opened my music up in a huge way! A lot of it is different, it has a new spirit because that’s just what happens when you change.

Out October 15th. Pre-order now.