I said I was going to post my album review for this CD by the end of the week, and I meant it, so here it is folks. This week, Atlanta-based girl group Cherish released their sophomore album The Truth. The set boasts production from Bryan-Michael Cox, Don Vito, Eric Hudson, Phalon Alexander, Ron "Neff U" Feemster, Rickie Fambro and Tricky Stewart. When I heard lead single 'Killa' for the first time, I thought the synthy up-tempo cut was very underwhelming. The song concept was lame, and it failed to exhibit any type of skillful vocal prowess that the sisters are capable of. Lyrically, there was no growth. If anything, it's probably one of the most amateurish-sounding songs on the album. I Aint Trippin' is slightly more grinding with it's catchy hook and solid production. It still fails to exhibit the vocal talent that they exude, but it's still a radio friendly song. I was also left wondering if that heart-stopping moment would come to levitate me on a musical level. It didn't I'm afraid.Whilst Amnesia is a beautiful guitar-laid ballad, it didn't blow me away despite the beautiful harmonizing and pretty vocal delivery. On top of that, it lacked originality with its identical musical arrangement to that of N-Sync's 'Gone'.As for Notice, it's one of the stand-out tracks with it's catchy-drum sequence and light-hearted concept whereas Framed Out is more hard-hitting and stylish with its emphasis of their love for rocking fresh and fly gear: "Gucci, Cartier, Marc Jacobs, Prada", "My Louis Vuitton bag" and "My cold shades" making it an eligible cut for Sex In The City. I thought whilst the beat is cool, I heard it all before. The midtempo jam Before You Were My Man is pretty dramatic with it's lyrical concept, but as far as its production goes, I was pretty much on the fence and didn't quite get the climax I was looking for. Balladry-type songs such as Superstar and Only One effortlessly highlight their great harmonies and vocal skills but didn't quite hold the same edge as Amnesia. Lovesick is an awesome song. It's one of my stand-out tracks but more importantly, it's my favourite on the album. I really enjoyed the aggressive emotions in the song. It's moody and extremely dark. It's basically an antagonist song about a woman relishing on a broken-hearted man who broke HER heart. There's just a clever play on words that I really enjoyed. My least favourite song on the album would have to be Damages. It didn't do anything for me musically whilst the closing song Like A Drum is a strong prominent cut to close off the album. I was particularly liking how the song title matches the the actual instrumentation of the song with its drum roll beat.
So to top it all up, The Truth, leaves you feeling a little cheated. Their hooks were constantly repetitive and they didn't really switch up their sound from their previous album Unappreciated. One of the main elements to longevity in the industry as a successful recording artist is being different and having sheer drive and audacity to take on what I would call the three important e's - experimenting, exploring and evolving. They didn't allow themselves to do that. They played it safe throughout. I just didn't hear much growth, and only 2 or 3 tracks impressed me lyrically, despite some of its nice production and vocal arrangement. That said, I'll go with Notice, Like A Drum, Love Sick and Amnesia and call it a day. Their CD is for the moment, apparently. A year from now, or five years from now even, you would not give this CD the time of day. Classic records from previous girl groups such as TLC's Crazy Sexy Cool and SWV's I'm Right Here still get played religiously despite being released 15 or so years ago. I also miss Xscape, 702, Total, Blackgirl, and dare I say it - Destiny's Child. Quite frankly, I don't see them lasting as a group, or whether they'll go far with this project, but good luck to them all the same.
Rating: 2.5/5
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