By Charlie Maybee
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D.C. acoustic heartthrobs, Cherub Tree, are back with another new single, “Serein,” which shows the duo embracing more of a strumming drive on the guitar mixed with blunt, pessimistic, yet captivating lyrics and vocals.
This is the kind of song that would kill in a coffee house open mic setting with its direct approach to naming an emotional ailment with the repetitive lyrical motif, “I am wasting my life.”
It’s cathartic to say something like that in a way that feels so nonchalant, and Cherub Tree contrasts this heavy lyrical content against the drive of the strumming guitar. The effect is akin to resign ourselves to live in our hurt feelings, even if it is in the deepest trenches of our hearts. Perhaps this is the process for moving through such pain – to feel it deeply.
There is also an awareness no one has taken the time to locate in this dark, hidden state of unrest. I see this as the place where the title “Serein” comes into play, which is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a fine rain falling after sunset from a sky in which no clouds are visible.”
Cherub Tree’s unnamed protagonist has shrouded themselves in a fine mist that has obscured people’s ability to see them, but their loved ones have also not noticed their absence. In the same way that mist is simultaneously light and airy, yet expanding and engulfing, we see our duo working through feelings of depression through this complex metaphor.
“Serein” is available on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
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Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
