By Ben Massey | 26/08/22
California based alternative rock outfit, Movements, return with their most polished work to date. Cherry Thrill is a song about an obsessive romantic relationship, one which engulfs and controls you. It’s a relationship fuelled by knowing you’re bad for each other, doing bad in the world, but it feels so right. Amidst the thrill of crime, danger, sex, and pleasure you are “hypnotised” by your relationship, one aptly described as a Cherry Thrill for its sweet adventure. In this fictional world created by Movements, one very familiar by popular films and TV shows, the narrator reveals their passivity when love infiltrates their life.
Despite the excitement of such a dangerous relationship, this Cherry Thrill loses the narrator’s sense of individuality. We have no idea who the protagonist is, except that they are unconditionally in love with a criminal. I think Movements represent this mindset towards such a relationship through their lyricism so well. Cherry Thrill isn’t only a depiction of fictional, feisty, unconditional love; it’s a depiction of control and power in relationships. The narrator here is jeopardising their own desires for love to please the thrill-seeking of their partner, losing little-by-little their power over themselves, until they only exist to serve their partner and their wishes.
Some lyrics that stick with me are “everyone else is dead to me” and “you pick the roles, I’ll play the part” as they perfectly describe this obsession and control. The narrator is submissive to their partner’s demands which may ultimately lead to their demise. The narrator is unsure about their dynamic as they fall deeper in lust: they ask, “am I the only one”, almost as if a question to their partner about their priorities, but also to listeners who also experience a power imbalance in their personal lives. Yet this situation persists with knowledge and reluctant acceptance that the relationship will likely end in the “world exploding” because together they are forces for evil. The partner, however, allows this relationship to continue. They continue control and manipulation to squeeze everything until they are no longer satisfied with what control they have. It is a recipe for disaster. Despite Cherry Thrill depicting control and obsession from the listeners’ perspective, It’s often not so simple. Those in these relationships usually cannot see the power imbalance until it collapses, such as this “world exploding” scenario.
The atmosphere of the music emphasizes the themes discussed in this song. It moves away from that sound that we know as ‘Movements’ towards something more refined. It’s a new chapter for the band. They incorporate beautiful guitar tones with steady drumming to give the song that ‘storyline’ effect. I can imagine Cherry Thrill sound-tracking a protagonist’s rise and demise in love and thrill, such as Tokyo’s first experience in love on the hit TV show Money Heist.
On top of this, Cherry Thrill is easily one of their most catchy songs. Movements use pauses generously throughout, highlighting a change in scene or a next chapter. Every time the chorus kicks in, there’s that split second of absolute silence and then an ever memorable “ooh” from lead Patrick Miranda that pulses throughout. It’s that constant variable that lives within film and TV shows. It’s something we can guarantee will follow, even if the story takes a crazy and unpredictable turn.
I love the fictional direction that Movements are moving towards. They’re surpassing the borders we associate with the band. I am very intrigued into their next chapter as they work up to their third full length album.
Check out Cherry Thrill here.
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Cover image by: Ben Massey
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