Cheery unveils new art-pop album ‘Bliss’
Cheery - aka Katlyn Conroy - is a self-described gloomy art-pop project hailing from Kansas and now based in Liverpool. With an enchanting voice and intricate layers of instrumentals, their new album Bliss documents a winding journey of growth and resilience.
Bliss is released on March 20th, and will be the first album Conroy releases under their Cheery alias, having built up twenty years of musical experience.
Howl is the first track on the album, with its opening lyric ‘is the light outside your window a guide or a pretender’ creating an immediate atmosphere of uncertainty.
Pulsing rhythms ebb and flow, reminiscent of Angel Olsen’s soft folk undertones. Plunging deeper into Cheery’s dynamic world, Concept of Love is bursting with pensive vocals and relatable lyrics that seem to agonise over claustrophobic love: ‘all outlets, they’re full in the house shorting it out / overcrowded now, get me out’.
True Lover is more stripped back, with choppy instrumentals making space for Cheery’s vulnerability as they reflect on an abusive relationship. The song winds down abruptly, but title track Bliss ushers in a more upbeat sound. Lighthearted lyrics describe ‘the mornings where we’d / hit the road, have a smoke’ as Cheery encourages us to create our own happiness. Soft layers of vocals wrap listeners up in four minutes of soothing bliss, blending with steadfast percussion that adds a glimmer of hope to the record.
Slowing down, Years Now incorporates meandering piano and experimental percussion, forming an ethereal soundscape. Confessional, introspective lyrics feel as though they could’ve been plucked from Cheery’s diary: ‘it’s just that I miss you every morning / I’m not alone but on my own’.
Yearning quickly shifts to dismissal in Man!, further testament to the album’s emotional range. The power in Cheery’s voice is undeniable, balancing out the softer vocals in earlier tracks as the song climaxes in a defiant rejection of male inadequacy.
This carefree attitude flows into Vulture, with Cheery surprising listeners once again as they venture into a faster-paced, jaunty sound. Pairing an upbeat tempo with more pensive lyrics - ‘a vulture’s work is never done / a predator has many tools’ - creates a sharp lyrical dissonance that encapsulates the album’s emotional range. Bullshit adopts a slower pace, re-immersing listeners in the pages of Cheery’s diary as they daydream of acceptance: ‘and I replay the moment in my head: you accept me! / But that hasn’t happened yet, not yet’. Bullshit’s steady, consistent rhythm also creates a sense of tedious inescapability, enhanced by candid lyrics: ‘I’m just as much a fool as I’ll always be’.
In Jason, Cheery asserts herself as a powerful storyteller, with lyrics telling a heartfelt story of loss. 90210 Poster is another dedication, this time to Cheery’s sister, where tender vocals and intimate lyrics shine against softer beats. Closing with A Plea, the heartbreak, abuse, grief and longing explored on the album culminate in defiant hope: ‘if you do not want me as I am then that would have to be your / loss, your loss’.
Written from the heart, Cheery’s Bliss is sure to connect with many listeners, and it is exciting to see where she will take us next.