Sweat, Tears, Sugar, & Spice: Diving Into Cherry Glazerr’s Latest Album ‘I Don’t Want You Anymore’
Photo by Maddy Rotman
Cherry Glazerr’s sound has been unmistakable since the band first began releasing music over ten years ago. Fostering a following dripped in youthful angst, the fanbase is charged by fiery instrumentals and haunting vocals. Returning with a full-length project produced by Yves Rothman after four years, frontwoman Clementine Creevy remarks that this new album is packed with realization, gut instincts, and deep emotionality. Released on September 29th, I Don’t Want You Anymore is Cherry Glazerr’s fifth studio album to date, combining the band’s classic ferocity with a modernized cathartic release of tapped energy.
Photo by Maddy Rotman
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your next album comes out in about a month, how are you feeling?
[CLEMENTINE]: I'm so excited. I just had like a wave today, this morning, of being really excited. It's been a long time since I put out a full-length album. I can't wait.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Like you said, it’s been about four years since you have released a full-length project like this. What have you experienced or learned in the past years that has contributed to this project?
[CLEMENTINE]: Well, for the past few years, I've just been writing a lot and I'd come up with a bunch of demos. I got together with Yves, my producer. We got together for the first time like a year before we really put the final touches on it. We definitely spent our time with it. I thought that process was really nice, like taking it really slow because I felt like I was able to craft something that was really emotional and from the heart and I had a lot of space to create when I was tapped into that creative energy. You know, like that sometimes can't be rushed. But, I've changed a lot actually, in the past few years. I've definitely had a lot of changes. I have had space from being on tour to really get in touch with myself and just being forced to do that has definitely led me to a lot of realizations. I think that's true for a lot of people over the past few years, I'm one of them.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are the ingredients for a Cherry Glazerr record?
[CLEMENTINE]: A lot of sweat and tears, and sugar and spice.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the recording process like for I Don’t Want You Anymore? Any fun memories you’d like to share?
[CLEMENTINE]: Yeah, a lot of late nights in the studio. A lot of me just kind of telling Yves about my entire life and him just being so open and supportive. Even though I'm like coming in crying about the relationship with, you know, my boyfriend at the time or my family. I feel like he needs a therapist after working with me. Yeah, he was able to take all of that on and it was really nice to have someone who I could go that deep with on an emotional level. And that I felt really safe and open to do that. It was a really magical place to be while I was creating my album, for sure.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You released the single “Soft Like a Flower” first. What was the decision behind having that be the first taste of the album?
[CLEMENTINE]: It wasn't going to be actually. This actually is kind of a good story. So, I keep wanting to call it "Stay" because that was the original name. But, "Ready For You" was supposed to be the first single and the whole team was kind of pushing that as the first single. And I didn't really want it to be, I felt like weird about that for some reason. I was just like, "I don't know." And they had already sent it out to DSPs. It was going out in like a week. We had created the whole thing around that being the first single. But, always in the back of my mind, I was like, "I just don't know, this just doesn't feel like the right thing to lead with." I don't know. But, I was like, "I'm just gonna go with it. Like, that's what everyone wants." I think they thought that was gonna be the most radio-friendly single and stuff. And then like three days before it was supposed to come out, I was talking to my bandmate Sami and we were at our friend's show and we were getting kind of drunk. And I was talking with her and I was like, "I don't know what to do, man. Like I don't want it to be 'Ready For You.' Like, I feel weird about it." And she was like, "You should do 'Soft Like a Flower.' That's your favorite song on the album." And I was like, "Oh my god. Yeah, I'm just gonna tell them." And then I told everyone I was like, "Wait, stop! It has to be 'Soft Like a Flower.'" And they were like, "okay." And it was a really fucked up move by me to make it such a last minute thing. But, I had to lead with that because that's my favorite song on the album and I feel like that's the one song that I've always really tried to make. And I feel most proud of that one. I mean, there's actually a lot of songs on the album that I really like. But, "Ready For You" isn't really my favorite one by any means. I love "Soft Like a Flower," though, a lot. The next single that comes out in like two or three weeks is also a personal favorite of mine. So, I'm excited to release that one. But yeah, I totally like fucked my whole label and like everyone by like changing it like three days before and I was like we're doing "Soft Like a Flower" and everyone was just like, "Okay, let's go." So, yeah.
[UNPUBLISHED]: That’s awesome that you were able to have the first single that comes out from the album be the one that you truly want.
[CLEMENTINE]: Yeah, I'm trying to sort of make decisions based on my gut feeling and do that more often. Because, sometimes I can just kind of be like, "Oh, like I trust like the suits." And I am lucky to have a great label and a great team around me and stuff. But, at the end of the day, I think you really should try to look deep within yourself and find your intuition. And for me, that's something that I've been trying to do a lot because sometimes I can feel a little cut off from my intuition. So, I'm trying really hard to go with it more.
[UNPUBLISHED]: And we talked a little bit about “Ready For You” already. I wanted to ask you about the music video for it. I love the look of the video and I am curious about where it was filmed.
[CLEMENTINE]: We shot it a lot in Twentynine Palms. We rented a little motel room out in the desert and then drove out there. And it was 118 degrees when we were shooting. So, we were so fucking hot. And we would shoot all of these scenes, like in the back of the U-Haul, with the band and it was beaming down on us so hot. I was like fanning Sami, like I had a little fan spray thing and I was spraying her and fanning her in between shots. Yeah, it was a hot day. We shot that all in the desert on the one day of the year that it was 120 degrees. So, we did that for some reason. But, it was cool. Most of it in the desert. Actually, mostly all of it was shot in the desert, in this hotel room out on the roads, and like in the U-Haul in the back of this truck.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the creative process like between you and the director?
[CLEMENTINE]: I found out about Sarah through my friend Blake. He was messaging me and was like, "Oh, my friend Sara makes these dope videos." And I checked her out and I had seen that she'd done some stuff with Neggy Gemmy, who I love. And I was like, "Okay, we gotta do this. It's sick." I didn't know how legit she was going to end up making it. It really looked beautiful at the end of it. But, I could tell she was going to do something cool because she's just a really rad person and is just fun and funny and cool to be around and unique. She had all these great ideas for the U-Haul thing. Also, their cameraman, Pat, came up with a lot of cool concepts. We got together at Cafe 101 in Hollywood and sat down for like two hours, like two days before we were supposed to shoot it, and came up with the whole concept. And we just came up with so many different things and they were like, "Alright, that's really good. But, what if we had this other thing going." And it was just like total chaos. Ultimately, we ended up coming up with this idea where I'm like on the run. I actually wasn't sure if I was going to star in it either. But, I ended up doing that because it just seemed like the right move. But, we had this idea of me being on the run and then I sort of have this love going with this boy and then at the end, I have to run away from him because the cops are chasing me and they're after me so I had to like let him go. But, I'm like sad about it because it was like true love, you know. I think this song is really all about running away from things that you think you're not good enough for and so that was kind of how the concept tied into that.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You have a new single coming out in a couple of weeks. Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind it?
[CLEMENTINE]: It's called "Sugar." And it's kind of about this guy that was like love bombing me. And we kind of had this toxic fling going. It's about kind of just consuming and being consumed and sex. It's funny, my friend and I were debriefing bands that are kid-friendly because she was saying that her band was playing for some children's event or something. And I was like, "I wonder if like, I'm a kid-friendly band." And she was like, "You're like the least kid-friendly band. Like all of your music is about yearning and sex." Like, oh my god, that's so true. But, at the same time, kids do go through those waves of emotions, like, especially teenagers. So, I think I can connect on that level to the angstyness and confusion.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I get that, I feel like I started listening to your music when I was a teenager.
[CLEMENTINE]: And I made it when I was a teenager.
[UNPUBLISHED]: For people who want to experience your album live in the future, do you plan on touring soon?
[CLEMENTINE]: Yeah, we'll be starting a tour in late February. Cool. We’ll be going around the US. So, definitely catch us when we're on the road.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What have you been listening to lately? What’s been on your radar?
[CLEMENTINE]: I've been kind of into this band called Way Dynamic. I think they're Australian. But, it's just really, really good production and like really good songs and just kind of mellow. You can kind of just put it on whatever. Yeah, it's vibey music, I guess. But, I've been really into it lately.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are you most excited about for the future?
[CLEMENTINE]: I'm so excited to put together a really sick show. We're going to be doing a lot of stuff off of the new album. The band that I've got going right now is really good. They're fucking sick. And you know, we're gonna get the visuals together. So, I just can't wait to tour the album and play around the country. Yeah, come see us. It's gonna be fucking sick.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Anything else you’d like to add?
[CLEMENTINE]: We are playing a secret show in Los Angeles on October 21 at Little Secret. So, come if you're in LA.
