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Psychedelic label Elektrohash Records, owned by Stephan Koglek from German retrorock band Colour Haze, is on the rise to become one of the more interesting European labels for fans of retro rock just like Nasoni Records from Berlin. New signing Cherry Choke is actually a side project of Mat Bethancourt of UK stoners Josiah which focuses on Sixties rock in the tradition of The Pretty Things, Cream and tons of other bands from that era. There is not a single moment where these guys try to transpose their music into the twenty first century.

Actually the album sounds like a lost demo from more than forty years ago. Nothing wrong with that of course, but unfortunately for them they do not possess the ability of the old bands to write outstanding songs with superb vocals. What is left is a sympathetic and sincere attempt to let revive the golden age of pop music. Strictly recommended for die hard Sixties freaks.

A musical fourth helping from the instigator and prime mover of The Kings Of Frog Island is a morsel to savour; their dark stoner musings have me enthralled, and the news that Mat Bethancourt (guitar, vocals, songs, also of Joshua and The Beginning) was moonlighting with Cherry Choke sent a little shiver of anticipation up my spine.

Unfortunately, I have to come clean. I guarantee many of you will love this short (35 minute) sharp garage rock sting, but I can’t get past the shambolic and unproduced (rather than under-produced) recording of these fascinating songs. The claim is that Cherry Choke kept the recordings wilfully raw. That, presumably, is “wilful” as in cheap and quick… rather than “wilful” as in a spoilt and childish “this is how I want it!” foot stomp?

There is a case here for Bethancourt finally spreading himself too thinly. These are songs that would be described as demos or unfinished tracks if they appeared on hi-fidelity remasters of original albums. Defiantly lo-fi, Cherry Choke seem to have just recorded their rehearsals without thought for the sonic clarity or long-term listenability. Maybe it’s my own personal quirk, but there is a difference between ramshackle (e.g. Seasick Steve) and badly recorded. Cherry Choke’s psychedelic garage rivals are Bristol’s The Heads and, where The Heads make a virtue out of their basic equipment and recorded-in-the-rehearsal-room sonics (try the album At Last for evidence), Cherry Choke are ham-strung by their belief that capturing “the moment” means recording quickly. It doesn’t; it means recording well.

The name of the band provides more intrigue than the songs, though: they’re named after a Victorian prostitute who possessed a talent so unique it made her famous. (Search the internet if you’re curious; that’s what it’s there for.)

While the promo sheet compares Cherry Choke to (astonishingly) The Who and (less surprisingly) early Monster Magnet, the songs end up in the murky swamp land of American Z-grade no-hopers Blue Cheer and their on-the-brink-of-extinction ilk. “Ride My Black Balloon” even quotes Monster Magnet directly, while “I Can See The Girls Grow” heads straight for Queens Of The Stone Age territory in both sound and title. The songs are largely chorus-lite commercial rock with that delicious stoner twist that can raise songs into the stratosphere, but which lies dead and embalmed on this unfocused and clunky offering.


songlist

1. She Turns Me on
   2. The Lie
   3. Ride My Black Balloon
   4. Reflections in Black
   5. Jezebel
   6. Cheetah
   7. I Can See the Girls Grow
   8. The Need
   9. In My Mind
  10. Fridays in June