Cherub Dream Records – Queen City Sounds and Art

The guitar tones and interplay in Parallel’s “Death or Oblivion” is refreshingly distinct and clear in the realm of where post-punk and shoegaze blur the stylistic line. Though the vocals are understated and slightly hazy in the mix they sit well in the mix offering a poetic commentary on the connection between the ravages of climate change and existential dread in the face of a seemingly doomed future. The arcs of descending melody anchored by pulsing yet crisp bass lines and widely expressive percussion enhance a contemplative mood yet one driven by an urge to express what’s in one’s head as a means of giving it explicable form in a way that inspires emotional movement rather than getting stuck in a pit of psychological stasis of being overwhelmed. There is a bit of Seventeen Seconds-period The Cure in the dynamics of the outro and fans of The Chameleons will appreciate the deep clarity in the song’s tonal mix. Listen to “Death or Oblivion” no Spotify and follow Oakland’s Parallel at the links below. The group’s new mini-album Flooded released via Cherub Dream Records July 10, 2024 on streaming, download, cassette and vinyl.

Parallel on Instagram

Parallel on YouTube

The chirp of birds and “I wish I could escape from this gilded cage” at the beginning of “Churn Down” by Oakland-based Cheree is the calm before the sharp bursts of sound and pounding, metallic rhythms and desperate and righteous vocals. Also processed white noise like leaking from a steam tunnel. Altogether it’s the kind of sustained outburst of catharsis that is what’s been appealing about artists like HIDE, Moon Pussy and HIRS: Uncompromising and willing to follow a path of using sound to express a certain break with mainstream normalcy and questionable social values that are entirely too common and accepted. This song and the rest of the new Cheree album Factory (which released on March 24, 2023 on digital, cassette and vinyl via Cherub Dream Records) is a rejection of and resistance to manufactured consent. Industrial noise rock for discerning ears. Listen to “Churn Down” on Spotify and follow Cheree at the links below.