B-Side Guys

Buried beneath Brooklyn’s urban sprawl, Gooseberry unearths a tender meditation on memory and love with “Cherry Blossoms.” Despite their reputation for gritty rock performances across New York’s DIY scene, this track from their album “All My Friends Are Cattle” reveals a softer side of the power trio, one that owes as much to Beatles-era psychedelic folk as it does to their usual alternative leanings.

The song’s narrative weaves through time like an old family photo album, each verse a snapshot of moments both preserved and lost. When Asa Daniels sings “The photographs in the frames / They have you looking away,” he captures that peculiar pain of memory – how even our most precious recollections can be incomplete, imperfect, always slightly out of reach.

This is deeply personal territory for Daniels, whose experience cataloging family photos dating back to the 1800s during the pandemic clearly informs the lyrics. Lines like “Keys and dates and wedding rings / But I could never forget your face” take on additional weight knowing they’re colored by his grandmother’s struggle with dementia. It’s a love song that acknowledges how time erodes memory while celebrating what remains unshakeable.

The production eschews the band’s usual rock muscle for something more delicate. Will Hammond’s bass and Evin Rossington’s drums provide subtle support rather than their typical rhythmic punch, allowing the song’s emotional core to shine through unobstructed. It’s a risk that pays off, proving Gooseberry can be as effective in whispers as they are in roars.

The recurring motif of cherry blossoms serves as a perfect metaphor for the song’s themes – beautiful, transient, impossible to fully capture or preserve. It’s fitting imagery for a track that explores how love persists even as memories fade, how some connections transcend the mind’s inevitable erosion.

Coming from a band known for their energetic live shows with acts like BabyJake and Maybird, “Cherry Blossoms” demonstrates impressive range. While their sophomore effort “Validate Me” may showcase their more aggressive side, this track proves they can navigate the quieter waters of folk with equal skill.

The irony of a song about forgetting becoming so memorable isn’t lost here. In stepping away from their usual “gritty rock born at the nexus of DIY and arena-ready pop,” Gooseberry has created something that lingers in the mind like an old photograph – slightly faded around the edges, but no less powerful for its imperfections.

This is folk music that remembers its roots while pushing forward, much like those family photos Daniels spent months archiving – each frame a reminder that some things are worth preserving, even as time insists on moving forward.