"Cherub" is a song by Australian indie rock band

Ball Park Music Ball Park Music are an Australian five-piece indie rock band from Brisbane, who formed in 2008. The band consists of Sam Cromack, Jennifer Boyce, Paul Furness, Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson. Their debut studio album '' Happiness and Surroundin ...

, released on 27 August 2020 as the third and final single from their sixth studio album ''

'' (2020). "Cherub" polled at number 4 on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

's 2020 Triple J Hottest 100, and was considered a favourite to reach number one.

Background

In a

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

, frontman Sam Cromack discussed how the song came to exist, stating:

"The main tune had been kicking around for years and it was Dean who implored me to develop it into a song. A chorus came together pretty quickly. It was pure escapism; it felt easy to imagine a character who runs away and rips a phone number from a flyer to start a new life. The song was building with a very optimistic tone, but it didn’t feel quite right. It felt off-balance, too starry-eyed. The
platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...
was waiting for the Queen. I sat by the water for a long time with no
verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...
s."

"Cherub" is one of the longest songs the band have ever written, which caused the band to consider never releasing it.

Recording

"Cherub" existed as a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

prior to the song's creation, which Sam Cromack discussed in an interview with

Jaxsta Jaxsta is an Australia-based database of music credits. According to a 2018 report in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', "it wants to be a cross between Bloomberg and LinkedIn, a trusted source for the music industry when it comes to finding out who ...

's Rod Yates, stating:

"Like a lot of songwriters, my voice memo app is full of ideas. This was one I kept coming back to. I had the verse
melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and the little ditty on guitar that matches it, and I also had that chorus lyric. It was Dean anson, guitarwho was like, 'There’s something special about that, you’ve got to finish that song.'".

The song was recorded alongside the rest of the album from late 2019 to early 2020.

Composition

indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

"slow burner", "Cherub" begins with "acoustic guitars and layered vocals" before "gradually build ngto a glorious peak". The song discusses "personal growth" and "when you're feeling like you're not your best self and not wanting to be a burden on the people around you." The song's build was partially inspired by

the Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

's song "

Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

Critical reception

Music Feeds ''Music Feeds'' is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine (street press) established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed electronically every second Tuesday, with additional material posted on the website r ...

'' called the song a "slow-burner that’s deceptively sunny" and praised "its delicate guitars and understated keyboards". ''

The Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and ...

'' described the song as " the album's torch-waving moment" and labelled it as the album's answer to "

Exactly How You Are ''Good Mood'' is the fifth studio album by Australian indie pop band Ball Park Music. It was released on 16 February 2018, debuting at number five on the ARIA Albums chart. The album was promoted with two national tours from February 2018 and M ...

". ''Beat Magazine'' labelled the song "

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

-esque.

Music video

An accompanying music video was released on 27 August 2020, directed by the band's guitarist Dean Hanson.

Synopsis

Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone'' Australia is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...

'' stated the music video shows "uplifting footage of butterflies in their natural habitat, reflecting the sunny disposition and feeling of freedom that the track seems to evoke within its listeners."

Reception

's Al Newstead felt the music video to be "suitably idyllic".

Live performances

On 11 September 2020, Ball Park Music performed "Cherub" live from their studio "Prawn Records HQ", which ''

NME Australia ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' premiered exclusively. On 23 October 2020, the band performed the song live for

's ''

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

'' segment, additionally performing a cover of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

's "

Paranoid Android "Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their third studio album '' OK Computer'' (1997) on 26 May 1997. The lyrics were written by singer Thom Yorke following an unpleasant exp ...

". On 21 December 2020, the band performed the song live for Australian live music program '' The Sound''.

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the parent album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

. Ball Park Music – writing, production, recording * Sam Cromack – vocals, guitars * Jennifer Boyce – vocals, bass * Daniel Hanson – drums,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

, vocals * Dean Hanson – guitar, vocals * Paul Furness – piano,

synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

, vocals Other musicians * Paul McKercher – mixing * William Bowden – mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs Ball Park Music songs Prawn Records singles Songs written by Sam Cromack