USC alumnus Jake Etheridge is the frontman of the now Nashville-based band
Columbia-born band CherryCase — which made its mark in the USC music scene in the past couple of years — is best known for its more acoustic-based sets that ooze an infectious, love song–laden charisma. Front man and USC alumnus Jake Etheridge won over the scene with his sweet smile, Converse high tops and easy-going flair.
Now, having made the move to the one and only music city Nashville, Tenn., in July, Etheridge — along with the other half to the charm, Taylor Desseyn — have been hard at work writing new songs, performing in their new home and most recently releasing a new album, “July Acoustic Sessions,” on Oct. 28.
The latest CherryCase showing gives listeners a look into the live-show experience, complete with Etheridge’s acoustic guitar riffs and pleasing harmonies.
The record opens energetically with “If You Go,” which is also the first music video from the new album. The track features Charlie Jackson of Versus the Robot on vocals, and the harmony of Jackson and CherryCase vocalist Jake Etheridge plays well with the soulful acoustic picking late in the song.
CherryCase has found and refined its main strength, lyrical storytelling, in “July Acoustic,” especially in songs like “Worth Fighting For.” The music stays simple, leaving the narrative of a lonely neglected boy and, in the second verse, an elderly woman struggling with debt, to stand for themselves. The song acknowledges the difficulties of living in the world today but leaves the listener with a hopeful: “It’s so hard growing up in this city / It’s so tough growing old in this world ... but this world’s still worth fighting for.
The album explores CherryCase’s usual themes of love and loss in the middle tracks. The arrangement alternates the declaration of commitment from opener “If You Go” with the anger-fueled “Don’t Come Back Home.” The pair is followed by “Heart Knows,” also featuring Jackson, best summed up by the line: “You’ve just got to let me know / what your heart knows.”
The self-explanatory “Love Song” and its frustration-filled counterpart “Just Leave” are centered around relationships, the subject matter CherryCase is known for, but the album takes a turn for the religious in the next selection, “Fallen.”
The song, which is the last studio track, references the Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son stories from the Bible.
The interesting switch in subject from the previous six songs grabs the listener’s attention, particularly when paired with the faintness of the guitar in the background. The obvious emotion in the song is captured in the last seconds of the song, as the guitar fades and Etheridge’s signature whisperlike vocals repeat, “I am fallen, but saved.”
The eight-song acoustic album ends with a live recording of melancholic tune “She Said.” The last song diverges slightly in Etheridge’s singing, with quietly emotional and wavering vocals reminiscent of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst. The song lasts more than seven minutes and marks the only fault of the album. That one song drags on, and as powerful as it may seem lyrically, the simple music doesn’t give quite enough to listen to.
Though “July Acoustic Sessions” is uniquely expressive and satisfying in its own right, it doesn’t feel like a full album. And while it seems better suited to a filler release between longer, full-band efforts, it is surely a great example of an acoustic album and the power that just vocals and a guitar can have.
The fact that the only downfall of the album is that its not quite long enough is a testament to CherryCase’s talent.