To rave about the new Cherry Pickles album is to rave about the continuing power of the PNKSLM label. The quality control remains extraordinarily high, and while the label continues to move in new directions, some of the acts that have been on the roster for a few years are just getting better and better. The Juice That's Worth The Squeeze is such a record, one which sounds like something on PNKSLM, of course, but which reveals Priscila B and Mimi B to be masters of their own unique trajectory.
"They Call Us Cherry Pickles" revs up like the theme song of a biker gang in a Corman flick, while "Black Hole" ratchets down the tempo and ups the bad intent. Elsewhere, "My UFO" is lyrical and strangely haunting, as is the languid "Out of This World", a neat blend of JAMC fuzz and early Sixties vocal girl-group stuff. Similary, the wonderfully-titled "Good Girls Bad Seeds" works in a reference to Nick Cave's old outfit, and the term that these singers would have been called decades ago.
If Prscila and Mimi are full of wickedness, or if they're just experts at sounding like they are, they remain excellent musicians and compelling vocalists. Cherry Pickles sound more in command here than they have on any previous release, and the mix of influences, while apparent, works so smoothly this time around that it almost feels like The Juice That's Worth the Squeeze is the best Cherry Pickles release so far.
The Juice That's Worth The Squeeze is out now via PNKSLM.
More details on Cherry Pickles via the band's official Facebook page.