Cherry Ames - "No Brakes"

You may say that post-hardcore originated in Washington D.C. It’s up for debate, but my personal forays into the genre certainly began in our nation’s capital. Starting with the consensus standard bearers Fugazi, I quickly worked my way forward chronologically in the Dischord Records catalog, falling head of over heels for bands like Jawbox, Faraquet, Smart Went Crazy, and the criminally underrated Q and not U. Each band wooed me with their frenetic energy, angular riffs, and thought-provoking lyrics that I craved in my early twenties. 

Cherry Ames sounds like a classic D.C. band in that vein on their new EP, No Brakes, but their modern take on the kind of experimental post-hardcore that blossomed in their city in the 1990s sounds perfectly suited for 2020.  It’s fierce, poignant, and intrepid, taking additional cues from bands like Sonic Youth by utilizing unconventional guitar tunings that wander off on their own tangents and plunge into a cacophony of sound. The opening track, “Angel 5,” has an unquestionable urgency in its tempo, moving quickly and throwing in a ton of hazy sounding, feedback-laced guitars.  The discordant riffs remain present as the EP moves along, taking an even larger role on the twisting “Bad Moon Rose,” and sounding significantly tauter in a Polvo-like way on “Best Wishes.” The latter half of the EP traverses in some towering maximalist sounds, working in a punkier edge with pummeling drumming and thudding basslines at the climax of “Golden Boy” that bleeds over to the EP’s final track, “Phase Out.” 

You can purchase No Brakes via Bandcamp.  Stream the EP on your platform of choice, including Spotify. Keep up with the band by liking them on Facebook and following them on Instagram.