The Creem
A Taste of Cherry
CMN
The Creem’s debut is a four-leaf clover of a record: hard to find, somewhat mysterious as to its origins, and certain to bring a smile to your face. A joint affair between Nick Thorburn of Islands and Mike Stroud of Ratatat, anyone familiar with the duo’s respective lanes of innocent, feel-good indie-pop will likely get goosebumps upon learning that the two have paired for a new project. Thorburn and Stroud actually started talking about performing together two decades ago, which explains why A Taste of Cherry sounds more well-thought-out than most recent albums by Islands, whose lackadaisical approach to making music is both a blessing and a curse as it leads to something fun yet often incoherent.
Naming themselves in homage to the iconic rock magazine—and in reclamation from the band that the publication’s own name was inspired by (“We were hoping to bait Eric Clapton into a guitar duel so we could kick his ass,” Thorburn told me)—The Creem rectifies those past aberrations by presenting a series of 10 songs that mostly adhere to the pop format and rarely deviate into weirdness. Lovable as Thorburn and Stroud are, their elusive nature leaves listeners feeling joyful, if not also often confused, when their musical explorations have reached their conclusions. A Taste of Cherry also lacks intensity—which, believe it or not, is a good thing. After so many rambunctious, unrestrained Islands and Ratatat records, it’s downright touching to hear these two create catchy, sunny songs that would sound comfortable on pop radio, even though they never succumb to trends. Indeed, the sound is a throwback to a much more innocent time, and that bleeds through in the delivery of their vocals and loving guitar strums.
Rather than borrowing the name of Abbas Kiarostami’s 1997 existential drama, A Taste of Cherry instead took its title from the Ratatat song “Cherry,” with which Thornburn had become obsessed with upon its release over 20 years ago. Which is to say that the lessons learned here are to maintain loving relationships with your friends, not to give up on an idea, and to realize that two prime musicians—when on the same wavelength—are better than one.
