SONG CLUB REVIEW: “Cherry” by BNI
(This post is based on the script Mark David Stallard wrotefor The Invisible Song Club live show.)
Listen to the song https://batteriesnotincluded3.bandcamp.com/track/cherry-new-single-2020
“Cherry” The song starts with a guitar strumming the first beat of the bar, with bass playing a note likewise. The drums provide a clear rhythm, with a double kick on the bass drum and a clear snap of the snare on the 2nd and 4th beats. It’s a familiar beat that one might associate with 60’s pop. The guitar picks up a simple riff, and we can feel the energy build. It gives us an expectation of what is to come, and we’re not left disappointed.
The vocals come in, with a fun rocking melody. It fits in nicely with the instruments, which leave lots of room for the vocals. The performance builds some tension, with a punchy melody. Our expectations build as we hear a familiar climb in energy and pitch, into the chorus.
The chorus stands out from the verse, as the melody comes quite colourful, with close harmonies. The melody climbs and falls throughout, in a satisfying way.
It repeats with the rocking verse and the satisfying chorus.
And then, quite unnecessarily, we get a middle 8. I say unnecessary because the song pretty much feels complete with just the verse and chorus. But whether it’s needed, it is certainly welcome, providing even more colour to the song, as well as some much-needed narrative to the story.
It doesn’t end there, we get the middle 8 repeated after a short break, and then we get a really fun mix of vocals one singing the words and melody of the chorus and the other continues with the middle 8. A very creative blend of the two.
It ends suddenly. Leaving me with a smile on my face.
Lyrically it is a simple story of boy loses girl because he was an idiot and desperately wants her back. Because as we’re told “She makes up my whole world”.
What I would like to point out is the use of rhyme. The verses don’t have much in the way of rhyme, but it does use a trick which is another way to create a rhyme. It’s the repeating the word, c’mon. It doesn’t feel as if it’s part of the melody, or part of the narrative. But what it does do is nicely masks the lack of the rhyme. This is a technique that if overused could become distracting, but they use it sparingly.
When I presented my selection to Angela, I told her this band is one of my guilty pleasures. I know they’re not super original, there’s much one could point to and say that this or that sounds like something else. And you might be right. But BNI have capture something that makes me smile every time I hear their music. They do have their own sound, and they know what they are. A fun band creating fun music, for people like me.
-- Mark David Stallard
