The end of 2023 has been big for Los Angeles-based band Cherry Glazerr with the release of I Don’t Want You Anymore. The vivacious album, which was released in September, harmonizes the struggle of love in young adulthood with its vibrant aesthetics. While they prepare for their headlining Touch of Chaos tour, lead singer Clementine Creevy sat down for an interview with staff writer Ren Gibson, delving into songwriting inspiration, plans for the tour and pickle soup.
YOU JUST HAD AN ALBUM COME OUT ON SEPTEMBER 29TH, HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT IT?
Clementine Creevy: I’m stoked! I’m really happy that it's out…I’ve been working on it for a few years and having it out in the world just feels really good. It feels like I have a piece of myself that I’ve shared. I’m just working on the next one already.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MAIN INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR ALBUM?
CC: I had definitely been through a lot of relationships. I was navigating different boyfriend relationships throughout a period of time, and I feel like the album is just a bunch of songs about different boys, to be honest. That’s kind of the gist of the record.
OUT OF THESE SONGS, WHICH IS, OR WAS YOUR FAVORITE SONG TO RECORD?
CC: I was definitely really excited when I was writing “Soft Like a Flower.” But when we were recording “Golden,” that was a cool one. I kept calling that one my ‘David Lynch song.’ We tracked the drums in Eve Studio, and we were in there recording the drums, and we turned off the lights and we were dancing around the room with these flashlights to inspire the vibes. In a lot of moments on this album, I tried to get more experimental and a little bit more freeform with a lot of the songs than I have been in the past.
THAT’S AWESOME! “GOLDEN” IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE SONG OFF OF THE ALBUM.
CC: Really? I love that. I’m actually really excited to play that one live. I’m definitely thinking about how it’s going to work. We have a synth player for now for this next run and we’re going to be playing as a four-piece, so it’ll be easier to sync sound and all of that cool stuff.
YOU JUST CITED DAVID LYNCH AS AN INSPIRATION. DID HIS OR ANYONE ELSE’S WORK HAVE ANY INFLUENCE ON THE ALBUM?
CC: I’m always getting hooked on new aesthetics that I find out about and I was sort of vibing on a grungy, ’90s aesthetic and kind of returning back to analog feelings throughout the album. I wanted to give it that rawness and warmth and freedom. That was me watching a lot of Greg Arakai movies. Doom Generation was a movie that inspired a lot of songs on there. I was watching a lot of movies during COVID and that inspired me a lot tonally.
I’M ALWAYS WATCHING THINGS AND WRITING STUFF DOWN LIKE, “OH MY GOD, THIS HAPPENED HERE. I NEED THIS IN WHATEVER I’M WORKING ON.”
CC: It’s cool to be inspired by different mediums, especially to inspire you in your own form of artistic expression. I was talking to my friend Jackie — she’s a painter — and she told me that whenever she’s stuck with painting, she’ll go see live music. She told me that as a musician, you should go engage with art and it’ll tap you into your medium. I think about that a lot.
YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN CAMBRIDGE ON MARCH 15TH, RIGHT?
CC: Yeah!
ARE THERE ANY SPOTS WHERE YOU’RE EXCITED TO GO IN BOSTON IF YOU HAVE DOWNTIME BETWEEN CONCERTS?
CC: I don’t know, I’d have to get recommendations from some friends.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A GOOD COFFEE SPOT, I’D RECOMMEND BLANK STREET. I GO TO THE CHIROPRACTOR AND THEN I GET MY COFFEE.
CC: That sounds like such a good routine. Honestly, on tour, I feel like everyone’s going to need that. I’m going to try to push that.
WE’RE GOING TO GET INTO A BIT OF A LIGHTNING ROUND OUTSIDE OF THE MUSIC. THE FIRST QUESTION’S EASY: ZODIAC SIGN?
CC: I’m a Saggitarius.
NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER?
CC: December. It’s almost my birthday!
FAVORITE SONG AT THE MOMENT?
CC: I’m gonna have to go with “Tried and True” by Ween. That’s a song that I’ve been coming back to recently and remembering that I loved Ween in middle school.
LAST THING THAT MADE YOU SMILE TODAY?
CC: Probably the view from outside of my studio. I tried really hard to get this room in the building because it has a window that looks off onto downtown LA. I know it's downtown L.A., and it's not even a part of town that I spend much time in, but just being able to see the skyline and the city just makes me happy. I always smile at the view from my rehearsal space.
FINALLY, AND IT’S A BIT OF A WEIRD ONE THAT I LIKE TO ASK, BUT IF YOU WERE A SOUP WHAT KIND WOULD YOU BE?
CC: I’m gonna go with pickle soup because it’s a really weird soup that I made one time. It was really good even though it sounds weird. It’s actually an inside joke with my friend Danny, so Danny, if you ever see this…pickle soup shout out, that’s for you.
I’VE NEVER RECEIVED PICKLE SOUP AS AN ANSWER BEFORE. USUALLY, IT’S LIKE… CHICKEN SOUP.
CC: I’m going to be a little different in either the best way or the worst way. Actually, the best way, because it’s really good.
WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SURPRISES FOR TOUR?
CC: I am very excited to play a bunch of the new music and just bring it to life. I think that, hopefully, it’ll sound better than the record. I’m just excited to tap into that and put on the best performance I can for everybody.
WHAT CITIES ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO TOUR?
CC: I’m definitely excited to go to New York, that’s gonna be fun. We’ll be in Brooklyn. I’m excited to come to Boston, though, for real. Beantown all the way.
IT’S GOING TO BE FREEZING WHEN YOU’RE HERE.
CC: I’m gonna be ready for it, though. I’m blessed, I live in California and we’re experiencing the winter times. I’m ready to get bundled up and warm up with the crowd… Defrost all of Beantown with our sounds.
Cherry Glazerr's new album I Don’t Want You Anymore is available now.
