As Bowling For Soup once opined, high school never ends, which is a piece of gospel that will inevitably follow pop-punk to its grave at the heat-death of the the universe. Granted, the genre has gotten better at bucking that notion since 2006, but the fact that the stereotypes of whiny, horned-up guys with prepubescent voices still exist would suggest it’s sticking around. And there can be value to that, even as just easy guilty pleasure fodder. A different perspective to it is also valid, though, given that life in 2024 is no longer like US Teen Drama #17. Voices are more diverse, and young people as a whole are more socially mobilised to events that can and will affect their whole generation.
To speak like that’s a development that’s just emerged really does do a disservice to the queer acts for whom this has always been where their flag is planted, but for Cherym in particular, and the biome of mainstream-leaning, decidedly 2000s pop-punk they find themselves in, it’s not that expected. They themselves began among the indie-punk where it’s far more commonplace, only making the full sonic leap on this debut full-length. Funnily enough, it’s also the deepest they’ve ever gone into themes like this. Naturally, the ‘political’ label has often been foisted upon them when it’s never been all that applicable (a regularity when a non-male appears in…well, anything), so the two-pronged combo of current-day necessity and rising to the event makes Take It Or Leave It all the fizzier.
There’s a snappiness that’s wonderfully purposeful here. It has to be, when clapbacks against online incels (Alpha Beta Sigma), restrictive gender roles (If I Was A Man) and simply being young and uncertain (roughly half of the album) not only have to hit, but feel like more than recycled talking points. Admittedly, Cherym’s takes aren’t all that radical, but relaying them through a young voice in the thick of the bombardment does a lot. The fountain-of-youth properties of pop-punk further stacks up that believability. Hannah Richardsons has a vocal presentation that conveys it so well, rambunctious and determined, and indicative of a person whose best years are more fraught than they should be.
But of course, this being a pop-punk album, there’s still room for the generational crossover hit of ‘nerd falls for jock’, of which Taking Up Sports is Cherym’s contribution. On an album that’d be representative of a teen moving through a true Gen Z lens, it’s a decidedly gayer, gooier affair, and one of the best examples on Take It Or Leave It of Cherym’s knack for an unshakable chorus. This is still pop-punk, after all; for all the social commentary packed in, fun is still allowed. The high calibre of hooks really is noteworthy, particularly when there’s a pricklier undercurrent to Alpha Beta Sigma or The Thing About Them that seem to blow all the more vividly. The punch on show really is impressive, and only takes a dip for a natural breather in the tender ballad Binary Star.
Musically, Cherym appear on a distinct wavelength that they’ve very few issues with riding. Formative genre staples like blink-182 are an obvious influence—closer It’s Not Me It’s You is an almost pitch-perfect recreation of a latter-day track in its sound—as are the ruffles of DIY production and indie spirit that, pleasingly, haven’t been left to collect dust. Not to worry—Cherym haven’t gone all LA on us, nor have they disregarded how strong the nexus between their musical identities can be. There’s a bit more prominence to the bass and shaggy crunch to the guitar, indicative of an endeavour with its roots still firmly planted in home soil (or near enough, anyway). And while this is largely a serious album with a bit of weight behind it tonally, that doesn’t preclude a need for sunnier-sounding bops like Taking Up Sports or AW TSYM to keep everything lifted nice and high.
Without a real low point to speak of, Take It Or Leave It is just a textbook case of a debut album with everything working in its favour. It has a handful of Cherym’s best ever songs and a tweaked sound to squeeze even more from them, along with the ethics and the performance style that just unquestionably, unquantifiably feel better. Cherym were really good to start with, sure, but the difference can’t be ignored. And with the current state of pop-punk having a multitude of inconspicuous openings to fill, the right bit of groundswell could reap some pretty incredible benefits down the line. That’s the thing with pop-punk—just like high school, it never really ends, and Cherym will inevitably be sittin’ pretty with cool kids in no time at all.
For fans of: Martha, The Donnas, blink-182
‘Take It Or Leave It’ by Cherym is released on 16th February on Alcopop! Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
