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Feb 01, 2019 Web Exclusive By Lee Adcock

Prior to now, Clementine Creevy and her Cherry Glazerr crew were just hanging out. 2017’s Apocalipstick eschewed formal honesty for situational slacking-the slow-blooming feminist, escapades in the kitchen, dirty underwear worn three days in a row. Good times, by every party guest’s standards.

But for Stuffed and Ready, break time’s over. Just as Apocalipstick raised the bar from 2014’s home-brewed debut Haxal Princess, this one ratchets up the grunge factor to semi-professional heights. “Ohio” blasts in with all you need to know-a very Pixies-esque quiet-to-loud intro, followed by non-contestably ruff riffs that smack of the kids that shopped at Hot Topic. When Creevy rips into being spent on the monolithic “Wasted Nun,” you can already see crowds yelling their hearts out back.

Apart from just slamming harder, Stuffed and Ready also tells a more cohesive story, as Creevy rocks out to her own soul-searching. “Daddi” expands on the revelations of Apocalipstick‘s “Told You I’d Be With The Guys,” sounding off a blunt yet suave fanfare for independence (“don’t hold my hand/don’t be my man”). Meanwhile, “Self Explained” takes a ska-laced page from Santigold and weaves the clever façade of an introvert struggling to pass as sociable. “Isolation” picks up the thread immediately, but with a decisively more heavy-handed, Weezer-esque approach.

Without any doubt, the Cherry Glazerr gang has never been stronger. But while that ten-ton force can bring you to your knees (especially the hair-metal-heavy “Stupid Fish”), the weight often crushes out the devil-may-care humor that made Apocalipstick such a blast. Even in the jet-propelled “That’s Not My Real Life,” which features guitar animator Delicate Steve, Creevy seems to look back over her shoulders, as if driven on by an intangible fear. Maybe now’s not the time to chill. (www.cherry-glazerr.com)

Author rating: 7/10