Cherry Choke - Evil Deceiver 7”/Cheetah 7”
Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Blackhand Records
Release date: 2008


So with Josiah being put out to pasture following its forthcoming final release and with The Kings of Frog Island's sophomore album now behind us, let's turn our attention to Cherry Choke, Mat Bethancourt's new (and presumably main) project. My take on these two 7” is that if Josiah put the doom in the garage and the Frog Island royalty replaced that with some traditional stoner rock-isms, Cherry Choke aims to keep it simpler and purer. On both Evil Deceiver and Cheetah, the English-based power trio stays firmly rooted in a gritty, bombastic '70's garage rock aesthetic. It's more hip shaking than head banging or foot tapping, but there's nothing wrong with hard hitting tunes that make you want to get down and boogie. The best cut is “Evil Deceiver,” but “Cheetah” and “She Turns Me On” aren't too far behind either. The quasi-theme “Choke After Choke” falters due to being a bit too repetitive, but what the hell, three out of four ain't too bad. Josiah's going to be a tough act to follow, but Cherry Choke sounds like they may up to the challenge.

myspace.com/thecherrychoke