It’s only been a couple weeks since I got acquainted with the absurd & joyous music of Nashville’s ramshackle folk collective CHERRY BLOSSOMS, but I’m a convert for life. They’ve been playing around since 1991, with a core of John Allingham and Peggy Snow writing, plucking and hollering around what sounds like a cast of dozens. There’re the jew’s harp guy, the kazoo lady, the ukulele weirdo in the corner, that one girl shouting in the back, an acoustic guitarist tripping on mushrooms, etc. Or who knows, maybe it’s only four or five folks. I’ve only heard one other modern band going for this vibe, whatever it is, and they’re called VALLEY OF ASHES & they’re pretty neat too.
THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS decided to put out a proper record in 2007, an LP, and it’s imaginatively called “The Cherry Blossomsâ€Â. I can’t find an image scan of the cover to load up for ya so you get a band photo instead. The record is a wild one – songs start up organically, musicians join in, people start shouting, tape hiss fluctuates here and there, and yet it’s not an improv or a weird-America record, really. It’s truly got the feel of long-ago Americana played by worshippers of the pre-WWII form, but who’ll play it their demented way & their way only. It’s a blast! They have a CD-R with our heroine JOSEPHINE FOSTER out now too so they’re really revving up the hype machine this year, hunh?
Play or Download THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS – “Charlie Primâ€Â
Play or Download THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS – “The Mighty Mississippiâ€Â