Electro Pop duo Cherub offers yet another example of the diverse scene that Nashville, Tenn., is hosting these days. Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber met at Middle Tennessee State University nearly a decade ago where both were studying music promotion, eventually forming Cherub in 2010.
Pursuing a sound that blends a passion for 8-bit Pop and funky Synth Pop with a love of Prince and Zapp that plays like part tribute/part satire, Cherub quickly gained a reputation for its live show and tongue-in-cheek lyrical reverence to music’s holy trinity of Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll.
Cherub bowed with its 2011 single “Doses & Mimosas,” which was an immediate sensation and established the duo as a force to be reckoned with in the Electro Pop scene. The pair released its debut EP, Man of the Hour, and first full-length, MoM & DaD, in 2012, followed by 2013’s 100 Bottles and Antipasto EPs, all as free (or pay what you want) digital downloads.
For all of the attention and adoration that has been lavished on Cherub since its formation, 2014 looks to be the duo’s watershed year. The twosome signed a Columbia Records contract, “Doses & Mimosas” went viral with a video that’s racked up a shit-ton of YouTube views and its debut at this year’s Lollapalooza was much buzzed about.
Back in May, Cherub’s major label debut for Columbia, Year of the Caprese, was released after a successful five-month campaign of individual track leaks to build anticipation for the full album. Critical response to Year of the Caprese has been overwhelmingly positive as more people seem to be getting the band’s cheekily explicit humor, while even more are being drawn in by the duo’s Disco-meets-the-’80s-at-the-corner-of-Now-and-Right-Now Pop rhythms.
Don’t let the band’s angelically chubby name throw you off. Cherub is slinky, kinky sex on a synth and they want to show you their … show.
CHERUB plays at 20th Century Theater Wednesday, Oct. 8. Find tickets/more info here .
