By Charlie Maybee
This Alchemical Records article is read by the author to provide a multimedia experience for our audience while increasing the accessibility of our content to persons with hearing loss, low vision, dyslexia, physical or motor disabilities, or are on the autism spectrum.
D.C.’s Cherub Tree just dropped their new single, “I Miss,” which has the quiet, serenading quality of a lullaby that induces an immediate state of calm. The composition is very bare featuring a rhythmically driven acoustic guitar, humming bass, and high-pitched, breathy vocals. It is only towards the end that we get some electronic ambience that allows the composition to swell and take up the enormous amount of space the primary instrumentation leaves untouched.
There is a warmness to this song that pairs well with its natural sense of introspection. It allows the listener to fill any unfilled space themselves with emotive contemplation. In my personal experience, listening to it made it feel like the contents of my mind had been melted down into a puddle and individual memories and stray thoughts suddenly became indistinct from each other.
In both its composition and effect, “I Miss” feels very liquid in the way it fills up (and takes the shape of) its container. It’s the perfect soundtrack for unwinding and dissociating, so be sure to take a break and let it take you on an aesthetic journey.
As the follow-up to their first single “Cold Summer” (a beautiful instrumental track), Cherub Tree’s affinity for songwriting is on clear display. There’s a lovely energy from the music that oozes an earnest authenticity without unnecessary flash. We can only hope that their next single, or album, will arrive soon because this is a duo that shows a lot of promise for the DMV music scene.
“I Miss” can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TIDAL, Deezer, and Amazon Music.
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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.
