Cherry Seraph – Despise (2022)
Using a darker and more macabre sound, Cherry Seraph runs a gauntlet of emotions in ‘Despise’. Dark and brooding, the single plays anger against a desire for softness and light leaving you reeling in the wake of indecisive emotional clashes. The darkness and churning of emotions come to a head in the chorus which brings a sense of understanding while retaining the moody tones.
While this single looks at many of the emotions explored in Seraph’s previous EP, they are considered through a very different lens. Turning to a darker tone, Sophie Russell draws on her classical training and multi-instrumental talents to throw you onto a serious emotional rollercoaster. A musical project born out of the pandemic, it explores sounds and techniques in music production that lends a unique touch to the final product.
The layered tones of Cherry Seraph’s vocals open ‘Despise’ instantly grabbing your attention. The rather macabre lyrics of the opening verse bring deep anger and almost hatred for someone. While her performance has a moody softness to it, the emotions punch into your chest and fill you with the anger she feels. This continues through the chorus until something changes with a realisation that while you feel anger when thinking of someone, you can also want them to be around you. The opposing feelings that are introduced in the chorus continue through the rest of the track made more powerful by the movement of the melody. The rollercoaster of emotion she draws you through is masterful as you feel the tense ball of anger in your chest only to be hit upside the head by the yearning for a soft connection with the same person.
While the vocals initially grab your attention, the melody ripples with an electronic flow. The softness of the synths in the opening is a little at odds with the dark lyrics but is a foreshadowing of what is to come. As the chorus hits, a deep pulse of electronic bass hits you adding to the bundle of tension in your chest. There is a delightful interplay between dark synths and light sparking synths that enhance the emotions of the single. While the melody drives some of the emotional journey, it does take a backseat to the vocals.
Cherry Seraph uses a moody yet strangely light melody to enhance the clash of anger and yearning that fills her single ‘Despise’. Her vocals pack an emotional punch as she hits you with anger in the vocals that turn into a yearning for a soft connection with the person you are angry with. While the melody is secondary to her vocals, it creates the perfect driving force that enhances the conflicting emotions.
Find out more about Cherry Seraph on her Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
