CRYSTAL MAXWELL
‘CHERRY’
Crystal Maxwell is a liar. Her latest single, ‘Cherry’ closes on the refrain, I’ve got nothing to show. This is clearly not the case. The Perth/Boorloo artist, who describes herself as a singer/songwriter with an alt rock flavour, has plenty to show her audience.
‘Cherry’ is as subtle a song as it is hard hitting. It captures the moment a woman transcends her tormentor and comes into her own. In that respect alone, it is a must listen.
‘Cherry’, is a lesson in musical edge play. Starting out with a three-chord acoustic intro, the singer mourning the loss of her partner, Maxwell’s sadness at her rejection is palpable in her vocal delivery. Then we have the build, the switch to muted electric guitar with the drums kicking in and Maxwell’s voice turning to anger as she begins to question her ex about his new girlfriend, asking, Does she pack you cherries in your lunch? / Do her kisses pack the same punch?
When it all really kicks off, the delicious crunch of Maxwell’s guitar coming to the fore, her vocals begin to transcend her pain with the delivery floating above the words, giving Maxwell’s seeming lyrical subservience a different meaning. Here’s a woman cutting loose and giving the man who used and abused her a clip to be going on with as he inevitably moves on to repeat the same mistakes over and over. Whereas, Maxwell is wiser for the experience, richer, and can decide what she wants to do with her cherries from now on. It would be a safe bet that she’s never going to serve them up to another man.
‘Cherry’ is as subtle a song as it is hard hitting. It captures the moment a woman transcends her tormentor and comes into her own. In that respect alone, it is a must listen. But this three movement alt-rock opera is also worth the journey for the crunch of the guitars and the growing confidence Maxwell lends to her vocals. With ‘Cherry’ Maxwell shows the world she is an artist ready to sing songs that will define her generation’s approach to love, life and the essence of what it means to be a 21st Century woman.
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