Kevin Bronson on September 24th, 2020

0

“Let’s talk about it in the morning” goes the chorus of L.A. eccentrics Cheer Up Club’s new single — but actually they are all about confronting serious issues right now. In today’s QUARANTUNES, they talk about donating proceeds to charity, recording remotely and their issues-oriented playlist. 

THE LATEST FROM CHEER UP CLUB

Judge Cheer Up Club not for their fashion sense (kind of ’80s/’90s thrift-store chic that yields to occasional bouts of crossdressing), nor their disloyalty to things like genre constraints. In fact, best just tag along for the journey, which can be like a Saturday night joyride in somebody else’s convertible.

The L.A. quartet — singer-guitarist Ethan Goodman, drummer Nathan Espinoza, bassist Will Gardner and keyboardist Hannah Stone — played to short attention spans and wry senses of humor with their 2019 debut album “Get Physical.” Not that the topical matter was light; they merely confront things in a way that isn’t pulpiteering.

They sound like slackers on their new single, “In the Morning” (out today), it’s not the endorsement of procrastination it seems. “The chorus says ‘We can talk it over in the morning,’” the band says, “but there’s a lot we can’t just set aside for tomorrow: A pandemic, structural racism, domestic abuse, mental health and healthcare, the ever-expanding economic divide. … [And] for those enduring homelessness, all of those are amplified.” The quartet is doing what it can: Proceeds from the new single will go to the Women’s Crisis and Bridge Housing program at The Midnight Mission.

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT?

We’re doing the best we can given the circumstances, but that’s not saying much, now is it? Overall, just trying to stay as busy as possible writing and recording stuff. Exploring new sounds, like “In the Morning,” while mixing the tracks we have recorded for the next record. Will, our bassist, is waiting out the virus back home in Nevada, so we’ve been sending ideas back and forth and recording remotely, which is a big change from what we’ve done previously. But so far it’s been pretty successful.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

Playing shows with the full band! We had our first tour booked to support our debut album “Get Physical,” and one by one, we had to cancel shows until we had to put the whole thing on pause. Also looking forward to going to shows — I’m sure there are plenty of local bands that have come up with some cool stuff while coping with quarantine.

ANYTHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLAYLIST?

There’s a ton of important conversations happening right now — from BLM and Me Too, economic divide, mental health and healthcare, housing. … We were trying to explore ways we could contribute to the conversation and connect the dots. Being from Los Angeles, it was easy to see how the homelessness crisis amplifies all the worst aspects of this, so we’re putting all the money we get from this song to The Midnight Mission’s Women’s Crisis and Bridge Housing program. We wanted the playlist to reflect that, so we chose a handful of songs we like that highlight/contrast different aspects of these issues. We also wanted to add a healthy dose of the ’80s, since that was a big influence on “In the Morning.”