Cheryl Desere’e – More Than Just A Pretty Face

We’ve become so accustomed to popular country peddling pretty faces and fashion plates to us who have no place in country music, and whose talent doesn’t extend beyond their ability to prance on stage or pose in photos, we’ve become suspicious when someone shows up in ravishing fashion and wants us to pay attention to their songs.
Cheryl Desere’e lists “model” and “pinup girl” right beside her musical resume, so it might be easy for some to write her off as just someone with a lark for country music with no real world experience to convey the pain and heartbreak all real country needs, or the dedication to hone the skills of singing and songwriting to be considered a serious artist.
But those people would be foolish to so quickly write off this Samoan goddess from the California desert as nothing more than a pretty face. With a sultry, smoky, jazzy style, a hot shit cast of studio players, and original songs penned by Cheryl herself, she has let her presence be know in the traditional country world with her new, self-titled album released earlier this year.
Cheryl Desere’e may have purple hair, but when she starts to sing, she’s all country, aside from mixing in a lounge-like jazzy feel that fits her smoky voice like a glove, and constitutes her signature sound. Cheryl’s songs have that classic country way of encapsulating a moment or feeling most people experience in their lives in a poetic, yet plainspoken way. Songs like “Pillow Talkin’,” “Lovin’ Beyond My Means,” and “Eye Candy” work like lost country classics.
But Cheryl shakes things up horn-driven songs hearkening back to the speakeasy age like “Keep Your Name Off Your Lips,” and “Last Night’s Face,” which fit smoothly between the traditional country material. She has the whole Jessica Rabbit thing working in her favor, and this is where her sultry, smoky style shines. Some country listeners might think that Cheryl’s singing is a little strange for country material. That’s because her vocal strengths are probably more native to jazz. She’s not going to croon out some big chorus. It’s more about her come hither style conveyed with a soft delivery that sucks you in.
Listening to this self-titled record is like taking a side trip to a forgotten roadside motel lost in time somewhere in California’s desert interior, where the glow of a neon sign beats back the dullness of modernity, and the turning of a room key is like the opening of a time capsule to a place much more accustomed and comfortable to old souls.
1 1/2 Guns Up (7/10)
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May 10, 2016 @ 7:10 pm
Nice song. Her voice reminds me of Kelly Willis and maybe a tiny bit of Rachel Brooke.
May 10, 2016 @ 7:14 pm
Would love to hear this “Pillow Talking” song by a woman who could sing better.
She’s not “bad” as much as she is “completely devoid of anything special.”
Her vocals sound like a dummy track recorded to the studio musicians so that the vocals could be removed for a real singer to sing to during an awards show. Completely soulless and mechanical.
Tonally she has a good voice, It’s just soooo robotic in delivery.
And the song isn’t half bad, it’s just really kind of inconsequential, it doesn’t say much or accomplish much, and it’s kind of boring, and the melody just sort of drones on and on forever, although right near the end it gets pretty exciting…
Also, that stupid Country Girl laugh at the end… it’s like she’s trying to laugh like Misty Rowe from Hee-Haw or that one episode of “Big Bang Theory” before the token attractive female underwent a character shift that completely ruined the premise of the show. Penny laughs just like that in some episode somewhere, I’m sure of it.
Point is that laugh is just annoying and contrived.
I know, I know, we’re supposed to just let the image go and hone in on the music, but I at least wish she would wear things that people actually wear in daily life, instead of trying to look like a magazine ad. That’s what Bro music does, it’s a musical magazine ad designed to grab your attention, and that’s what her photo up there looks like. People don’t actually dress like that.
The arrangement, is where this stuff shines. That twangy guitar is MY JAM BABY!!!! Love me some Don Rich style telecaster riffs, and this tune is full of that, and the old Western Swing fiddle harmonies to boot. Love me some twin fiddles, it just isn’t done enough.
In fact, I go back and forth between Chubby Wise style blues-soul fiddle and Johnny Gimble and Bob Wills style fiddle harmonies… love me some fiddle, most other instruments I can take or leave, but a Country song has to have a fiddle, a steel, or a Cramer-style piano… It’s one of the landmarks of this genre…
I kind of agree with that “lost Country classic” tag… This sort of reminds me of the type of sappy, empty-headed fluff that early Buck Owens used to sing before he started doing stuff like “Big in Vegas.” This would fit right in with “Hello Trouble” and “Let’s Stop Kicking our Hearts Around.” both melodically and sonically.
May 10, 2016 @ 7:47 pm
Do you have anything nice to say ? Or do you wake up this bitter
May 10, 2016 @ 8:32 pm
Nah he’s usually like this and most of the time we ignore him.
May 11, 2016 @ 2:26 pm
I don’t wake up this bitter. It sets in after I turn on the news.
May 11, 2016 @ 5:40 am
I smell a troll, and it’s stench is putrid.
Would anyone ever dream of lambasting Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton or any of the other myriad country songwriting trailblazers for the way they chose to sing their own songs when introducing them to the world? I think not.
Didn’t your mama teach you it’s never wise to judge a book by it’s cover…nor an artist by only one of his/her songs. As Kyle has clearly spelled out, this album covers a very broad range of genres within the traditional spectrum. Plus, unlike you Troly McTrollerson, he has actually listened to the whole thing and we trust his opinions.
Finally, I’m going to assume you are male for the purposes of this next bit. That being the case, if you are also not a father, then it would be nearly impossible for you to comprehend, much less empathize the process through which a songwriter traverses who is releasing a CD full of their own original material…simply because the closest parallel in the real world is childbirth.
Find another forum to Troll, asshole.
May 11, 2016 @ 7:52 am
In fairness to the Fuzz, he is not a troll. He weighs in quite a bit round here. Most of it is caustic, and biting, sometimes he nails it. This just isn’t one of those times.
May 11, 2016 @ 8:28 am
This one might might not be, but I think many of his comments have been trollish. I think this one is just another example of him showing off his “superior taste” in country music. I count seven country name drops.
May 11, 2016 @ 11:45 am
Can’t argue with you, Jack. Never said he wasn’t trollish. Sometimes his insight is refreshing, other times, meh.
May 11, 2016 @ 2:30 pm
Loretta lynn and Dolly Parton are talented women with good voices and a lot of soul, and their own material is a lot more original than the song I just heard.
Yes, I’ve only heard one song by this woman.
Yes, I reacted just as negatively to Margo Price when the only song I had heard was “Hurtin on the Bottle.” I still think that song sucks, but I no longer think Margo Price does, because I’ve heard more material and like it a lot better.
But feel free to dismiss opinions you disagree with as trollish. I’m sure it’s easier than trying to use rational arguments to make your point.
Yes, I am kind of caustic. I speak is as I feel it, and I admit when I’m wrong…
I screamed to the heavens that Sturgill Simpson’s new album would flop. And I was wronger than wrong could ever be, and I’m glad I was wrong because Sturgill’s new album is amazing.
May 11, 2016 @ 1:51 pm
That track was quite boring… And ya, her voice is so meek & tame…. Like she’s trying to sing quietly.
It was okay, but nothing to go bananas about.
May 11, 2016 @ 2:05 pm
Folks, this is one song from an album. Sure, it’s put there as an example, but listening to one song doesn’t qualify you to make wipe sweeping opinions about her music. If you read the review, I mentioned how I felt some country fans may take some more warming up to her voice because it’s more akin to jazz. I’m not trying to convince you to like it. I’m just saying I would not base my opinions on an artist or album off of one song.
May 11, 2016 @ 8:05 pm
My mantra, especially the past few years, has been “listen to albums, not songs”.
If you hear a song you like, listen to the album. It may or may not be the only good song. If you read a review from a trusted source and don’t like the song presented, listen to the album, there may be something there.
On a side note, I never click the links on review sites. I want to find the album so I can get a good dose of what the artist has to offer. As I write this, I’m only four songs in. Still can’t make a full judgement.
May 11, 2016 @ 5:21 pm
Hey, Fuzzy! May I call you Fuzzy?
I read your review, and as a friend of Cheryl’s I’m admittedly biased. Please don’t dismiss me yet because I am her friend. I actually have heard the whole album 100s of times, I know the backstories on all the songs, and I have seen her live many times. Whether performing covers or her own stuff, she is a great performer, has an incredible stage presence, and is doing something different and refreshing that this town needs. In spades.
I encourage you to, well, become a better reviewer. You’re a pretty awful one, in my opinion. You only listened to one song, then proceeded to tear the artist apart. And her band. And her look. Wow. Really? Wow. That’s not a review. That’s just, well, lazy. What a shame.
I can totally see why that other commenter said you are dismissed so often when you give your opinion here.
You can do better, Fuzzy. So much better.
I know you can because just in this thread alone you admitted that you were wrong about many talented folks. You even said you did the same thing regarding Margo Price’s single, and then were big enough to go back and change your mind. That takes a big person to admit they are wrong, Fuzzy.
Why not better yourself, Fuzzy? I’m being serious here. Why not do the work and post an insightful, well informed, researched review that intelligent music fans will listen to and respect? You apparently have done it before. That commenter stood up for you. So while this is my first time at this site, I can ascertain through the comments of others that at some point you aren’t lazy and dismissive with your reviews.
Yes, I disagree with your opinions, because they ARE trollish. A troll is a lazy reviewer who pops in with uninformed opinions and mouths off after doing the minimal amount necessary to post his/her opinion.
You’re better than that.
You obviously have excellent taste in well-established musicians. I respect comments you made when you obviously know of what you speak. But bashing an artist based on one song? And based on her (or his) look? That’s pretty shallow. You know it is. No one wants to hear shallow. It’s lazy and easily dismissed.
And it was mean. You know that too. And hurtful. No one puts stock in someone who is mean and hurtful. That’s why you’re apparently dismissed so much.
I’m gonna go make a judgement about you – something I really try not to do because I can only relate to my own experience, but here goes anyway – and surmise that you like to think you have a tough skin, but when you’re all alone at night and the darkness comes, your a scared child like the rest of us. Like I am.
So when someone like Cheryl takes a brave step and goes against what is popular today, writes her own songs that actually mean something, spends all her hard-earned money to hire incredibly talented studio musicians (these guys/gals are very well respected in the business), doesn’t over produce her voice, and does all the promotion herself – well, she deserves our respect. All of us.
And let’s talk about her look. Her amazing look. Why do I think it’s amazing? Because I understand how judgmental people are about appearance. She is brave choosing the look she has. She wears it every single day. And so do I. And so do many of our friends. We are this way on the inside, and we are not afraid to put our inside image on the outside for the world to see. We are open and honest and make no apologies for how we choose to look and what we choose to wear. I applaud anyone who does that, especially someone with purple hair. She is amazing, and looks great. Look around. There are many people who wear this look. Your statement is wrong. You didn’t even take the time to understand it, you just fired off an opinion that no one looks this way. Yet we do. A lot of us do. And we look incredible.
In my opinion.
Fuzzy, you have it in you to hold new, struggling, honest artists up, not tear them down. You did it in your closing comments when you compared her sound to the great Buck Owens in his early days. If you did your homework and really got to know the subject matter before tearing her down and trodding all over the sound, her look, her laugh (really, Fuzzy? I must say that it was impressive how you shoved all that judgement and ugliness into a comment about her laugh. Impressive, but not respectable. It makes you look ugly. And mean. And lazy. And someone no one shouldt listen to. Ever.), you might have our respect. I mean, Jeez, Fuzzy! Even Buck Owens had to start somewhere. You know that.
Maybe you’re just getting started, Fuzzy. Maybe you, too, will change and grow and evolve. You seem to have something to say. You seem to want folks to listen. You seem to thrive on the attention you are getting from people like me responding to you.
If you stop being so lazy, Fuzzy, maybe folks will start to respect you too, the way these other commenters obviously respect what Cheryl is trying to accomplish. The way they respect Trigger’s opinion of her body of work.
Until then, Fuzzy, you sound like that scared little boy that isn’t brave enough to create something original or unique on his own, so you scoff at those who do, and tear them down to make yourself feel better. I feel pretty darn confident about this opinion of you, Fuzzy, because I used to do it too. I was a scared little person so I can relate to this. I sounded just like you. It was awful.
You’re better than this, Fuzzy. We all are.
In my opinion.
(Now go ahead and tear this opinion to pieces as well. It’s expected that you will do so. Or maybe you’ll do something unexpected and the next review you post will be smart, well thought out and informed. Even if you hate the music, and least others will respect you for taking the time and putting in the effort to form your opinion. Until then they will keep on dismissing you, again and again and again. And at night, when the darkness comes, your scared little boy will admit that no one likes you. You can do it, Fuzzy. You can be great. I know you can. Surprise us, love. Show us what you got.)
May 11, 2016 @ 6:28 pm
Better yet, if Fuzzy is really feeling up to it, he should actually listen to the whole album so that he can attempt to make an informed stream of comments.
May 12, 2016 @ 4:43 am
I’m not going to tear this opinion apart. Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not a bitter jerk who hates everyone and everything.
You’re right, I only listened to one song and wasn’t impressed. I also admitted that I felt the same way when I heard the first song from Margo Price, and later changed my opinion.
And when did I tear the band apart? I loooved this arrangement and said as much in my comment.
Jeez, I offered up my opinions about the song and the picture, and my opinions are pretty far removed from the others, which is pretty normal.
I’m not knocking the girl, I assure you. and my looks criticism was more of that white dress/whatever it is than of the purple hair. I don’t mind the purple hair, I used to color my hair too.
I change and grow and evolve a lot… I used to hate Patsy Cline’s voice, if you can imagine anyone not liking a voice like that.
and I’ll probably hear Cheryl sing something I like a lot better than this.
and for what it’s worth, if other people like it, other people can listen to it, and they can link to songs in the comments to try and change my opinion, I’m pretty open minded and listen to many many kinds of music.
And if she’s happy with her album, than good for her and good for everyone who likes it, because this is an art form.
I just think this one song isn’t really very special.
People dismiss me for a lot of things, I think Maddie and Tae are a marketing farce, I think Jerrod Niemann isn’t too bad (I know it sounds crazy) and I can’t stand the Judds…
But I’m still going to offer up my opinions as they come to me.
Thank you for posting an intelligent, reasonable comment that’s well thought out and respectful, it’s real easy to insult people and use profanity on the internet.
May 10, 2016 @ 7:32 pm
love her voiced and sassy attitude!
May 10, 2016 @ 7:45 pm
An Amazing review. And I must conquer . Thank you for all the Beautiful words about my daughter. I thought I was the only one who thought like this.
May 10, 2016 @ 8:08 pm
At first listen I thought a little shade of Nikki Lane, another sexy retro country chanteuse. Look forward to hearing the rest of the record.
May 10, 2016 @ 10:11 pm
kacey musgraves , sam outlaw , loretta lynn’s latest , cheryl d’esere . man ….bring it on . this is trad country writing ,arranging and performance by folks who completely ” get it ” .
May 11, 2016 @ 3:29 am
Gorgeous Emmylou style fiddles!
May 11, 2016 @ 4:54 am
hot legs
May 11, 2016 @ 8:53 am
yea didn’t get around to her music, yet+1
May 11, 2016 @ 5:59 am
With legs like that she has a bright future on Fox News.
May 11, 2016 @ 6:06 am
As a trombonist, I rarely am asked to participate in any of the many country genres. The bulk of my discography ranges from Classical to Jazz, Motown, Latin & Pop. I’ve got to say though, that I’m thrilled to add this album to that list. In listening to the project in it’s entirety, from a technical standpoint, not only is it exquisitely performed by the “hot shit cast of studio players,” it also has an excellent mix and master which one would expect of a major label release (yet frequently don’t even find from them either). Lyrically, Cheryl masterfully finds new and almost poetic ways to describe the truthful, real-world topics you’d expect from any traditional country album. But it is the the great stylistic variety of this project that really grabs me as a listener. Pillow Talkin’, linked above, happens to be Western Swing, but there’s so much more here than meets the eye…or proverbial ear. She’s got the Bakersfield sound in Diamond Valley R.V., a heart-wrenching waltz in Lovin’ Beyond My Means, the Merle Travis influenced Stage Door Jenny, the bluesy – Eye Candy & Keep My Name Off Your Lips, a hot jazz throwback in Last Night’s Face, Appalachian styled – Sin Eater, Desert ambiance in Cactus Flower and Wildfire, Truckin’ tinged Rabbit Hole and a stripped down gut-punching duet called Don’t Look Now. I couldn’t be more proud than to have been a part of this project.
May 11, 2016 @ 9:11 am
Never heard of her before but I’m diggin her music.
May 11, 2016 @ 9:26 am
At least she’s in the driver’s seat of the (normal height) pickup truck. But maybe she’s checking the keg in the bed? Hard to tell. I suspect her boyfriend is a bro, tho. When he gets there to fix the truck that Jason Aldean CD is going right back in the player–dammit Cheryl!
I like it well enough. Not sure why the normal sensitive-types aren’t more butt-hurt about her objectification, based on some past comments.
May 11, 2016 @ 3:45 pm
I know Cheryl. What you see here is what you get every day. Her husband is also far from a “bro”.
May 11, 2016 @ 4:12 pm
As one of her friends, I can tell you that she is the real deal. She eats Bros for breakfast, is a very classy woman, and is the most real person I have ever met. Come see us sometime. You’ll see exactly what I mean. We live in a town that can be very fake and contrived, so when I meet someone who knows who they are and makes no apology for it, I admire and respect them. She’s wonderful, in many ways.
May 11, 2016 @ 8:07 pm
Wow! Loved it! Thanks for bringing her to my attention. It’s the nostalgic sound of her voice that pulls me in, and her look is so beautifully cool.
May 11, 2016 @ 9:03 pm
not worth anyone’s time of day.
how’s about that for a review?
May 13, 2016 @ 10:13 am
Please forgive me for being superficial, but mmmmmmmmm those legs!!!!
But besides all that, she does have a really good sound to her in my opinion. So she is not just a pretty face.