Launching on Netflix last week, ‘I’m With The Band: Nasty Cherry’ is the Charli XCX led docuseries tracking the zero to 100 rise of Nasty Cherry.
Plucked from their daily lives by Charli XCX and thrown together in an almost frat-like Los Angeles house share of music, parties, drinking and even a spot of drama.
Chloe Chaidez from Kitten drives the series forward with her eccentric punk personality, Gabriette Bechtel is probably the coolest personality you’ll find on the whole of Netflix and grapples with life as a lead singer, XCX’s touring drummer Debbie Knox-Hewson often provides the voice of reason and production assistant Georgia Somary feels the nerves of dropping her life in England to learn bass for the first time before joining Nasty Cherry.
The whirlwind six fly-on-the-wall episodes see the four girls getting to know each other with emotions on a high as Charli XCX and manager Emmie Lichtenberg direct them from one producer to another and put on DIY shows in the band’s lounge. XCX screams “I’m f***ing offended” at the band in one episode, tears fall in another and the overhanging possibility that Nasty Cherry might just not work makes for a bingeable series.
It’s no secret, however, that the band have far from failed. Since filming a series of singles have followed ‘Win’ to critical acclaim and now the girlband release their first EP, wittingly titled Series 1. When Charli XCX said that there isn’t anyone out there like Nasty Cherry, she wasn’t lying and the show alongside their tracks goes to show that.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of ‘I’m With The Band: Nasty Cherry’ is indeed XCX’s role in it all. The ‘1999’ singer’s collaborative tendencies and curator status are no secret, but it’s the first time fans really go behind-the-scenes to see the pop star pull the strings on a project. One-on-one interviews and conversations between Charli and Emmie narrate the hectic going ons.
With their overseeing eyes, it’s not too surprising that Nasty Cherry did find the success the clutch for in the series. That’s not to take anything away from Chloe, Gabriette, Debbie and Georgia, though. They are four kick-ass rockers whose presence on the music scene can only be a good thing.
‘I’m With The Band: Nasty Cherry’ and the band’s ‘Season 1’ EP are both streaming now.