Album Review: Cherlene – “Cherlene” (Songs From The Series Archer)

Is this an album “Mr. Sunshine On My God Damn Shoulders” John Denver would approve of? Find out after the JUMP!!!

Hmmm…Wonder how long it’ll take to make that into a poster?

Country music gets a bit of a bad rap and that’s mostly from the uneducated masses that profile the common attendees and fans of said music. Look guys, not all metal heads are gonna go on a killing spree, not all rappers are gonna sell drugs and not all country music fans are inbred rednecks with a 5^th grade education. I mean, most are, but profiling is wrong and you should really explore all things before you ever pass judgment. I, for one, am supremely guilty of typecasting country music. I lived in New Orleans for most of my high school career. I was lumped into and associated with the outcasts and metal fans at a huge school that was populated mostly with fans of rap, pop, and country. So naturally I grew angsty towards these genres. I saw the fans of country music as somehow below me. Their songs were either extremely sad songs about the loss of love or peppy and bright songs about partying and red plastic cups. It really took me years to actually begin to enjoy country as a music source and not just a source of a quick joke. Country is one of the few genres where the musicians do all of the legwork to get signed: from promoting the shows to writing the songs and lyrics. That task can’t be said for most pop musicians. Take any Beyonce song and do a little bit of research. See how many people participated in the writing process?

Now, as a 30 dude and not an 18-year-old idiot, I can see that country is really where soft rock meets the blues. Maybe I’m losing my edge in this old age. Maybe I’ve settled down with someone who finally gets me. Maybe we watch Guy Fieri until we fall asleep on the couch. Maybe it was the move back to New Jersey and the ability to see the genre and the culture from an outside perspective to really see that I do truly enjoy country. I never thought those words would ever escape my lips. And if you told 18 year old me that I would say those words, and that those words would be cemented by a country album released for an animated show, I’m pretty sure I would have kicked you in the dick.

Cherlene starts out like a ball of fire with “Danger Zone.” Yup, that “Danger Zone” Kenny Loggins, or “K-Log” as he’s known on the show, graciously leant the song to Archer and performs an amazing reimagining of the 1980s classic with Jessy Lynn Martens (not Judy Greer). The song sheds the steryotypical “Top Gun” feel that we’re all used to and with the addition of some acoustic guitars and violin (or is it a fiddle since this is country?) is able to build up a brand new track. The vocals are tracked with an almost karaoke feel to it. And I say that in the most lovingly way possible because we’ve all seen some horrible karaoke. Martens and Loggins are able to keep pace with each other on a vocal level beautifully. The use of singing in a round at the end of the song  adds a genuine and heartfelt touch that could easily endear this song to new fans as well as Loggins fans from yesteryear. As a matter of fact, in a recent conference call with Loggins, he actually joked about wanting to sing a duet with Cherlene at the Grammys. He’d play it live and clearly she’d be animated, but wouldn’t that be a friggin sight?

Thankfully, this album doesn’t slow down after “Danger Zone” fades. It was a pretty sizable fear of mine that the rest of the tracks would be hokie and not true to the country music feel of the lead in song. The last thing I wanted to her was comedy or anything that Larry The Cable Guy considers comedy. But with the more aggressive “Midnight Blues” and the George Thorogood-esque feel of “Chattahoochee Coochie Man” those fears were quickly dispersed. “I’ll Burn It Down” is another fine example of how versatile this album is. This sounds like a two-minute blast of energy that you could hear any number of singers belting away whilst on top of a bar in Memphis. There is a soulful gravel in Marten’s voice that helps you feel her pain as she takes her revenge as a jilted lover. I like it when a singer is able to sell you their emotion with the pitch and tone of their voice rather than the words they’re saying. Words can be interpreted in many ways but emotions are one in a million. Artists like Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) and Anthony Raneri (Bayside) have sold millions of records using not only their ability to write their emotions but to also let those emotions escape through their vocal cords. Ms. Martens can surely pencil herself onto the list of people who have truly struck me personally using their vocal abilities.

This is a really tough project to score for me. Archer is probably the best show on television that I never get a chance to watch. I have no true personal connection to the characters so I can’t tell you if this album sticks true to the people we all see on the screen. But what I do know is music, and musically speaking this album is really tight. The vocals, the musicians, and all the way down to the recording and engineering is a well-oiled machine. If you appreciate soulful and concise music, or if you just love the series, this album is a must buy!

 

Recommended Tracks Not Mentioned:

“Charlene’s Broken Hearts And Auto Parts”

“Swing Shift”

“Eastbound And Down”