Not since the immortal words of T-Pain, echoing out like an auto-tuned town-crier, proclaiming a perpetual state of victory in DJ Khaled's seminal classic "All I Do Is Win" has there been such a surplus of winning, until Nasty Cherry came along. Emerging from seemingly nowhere with a simple video of two champagne flutes balanced on a bare ass floating in a pool, Nasty Cherry generated a lot of buzz with their cryptic social media flirtations, even getting Halsey to ask "Who the fuck are Nasty Cherry?"
Thankfully last week pop curator extraordinaire, Charli XCX, let us in on the full story of her brand new all-girl group. Consisting of lead singer Gabbriette, drummer Deborah Knox-Hewson, guitarist Chloe Chaidez, and bassist Georgia Somary, Charli explained that she was co-writing some songs in addition to helping produce videos and visuals for the group in a sort of executive producer-type capacity. Charli XCX also indicated that if fans were craving more of her True Romance-era music that Nasty Cherry would certainly satisfy that itch.
With their debut single, "Win," finally out now, there is no question that Nasty Cherry has arrived. As the title would imply, the track is very much centered on the idea of "winning." If love is going to be a zero-sum game, Nasty Cherry is going to come out on top. Produced by Justin Raisen, who has worked with the likes of Sky Ferreira, Angel Olsen, and Kim Gordon, "Win" wears its influences on its sleeve, honoring the long rich tradition of badass girl groups within the future-facing pop know-how Charli brings to the table.
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In its short two minutes and 44 seconds,"Win" steadily builds momentum by bringing together West Coast guitar riffs with industrial percussion around Gabbriette's cut-a-bitch vocals that drive the song towards a foot-stomping victory chant of "I need to, I need to, need to win." The understated genius of the track is that it cleverly folds a vulnerability into its ambition. Nasty Cherry aren't apologetic about their desire to come out on top but unlike the aforementioned DJ Khaled track, the song forgoes the male bravado and entitlement that might make "Win" come off as arrogant, and instead paints an empowered self-assured portrait of a band you can't help but gaze upon with admiration.
Listen to Nasty Cherry's debut single "Win," below, and catch them perform for the first headline show in LA March 15th.
Photo by Tsarina Merrin