Bimbo, bimbofication and bimboism are phrases that entered – or reentered – the cultural vernacular in 2021. A subversion of the ‘bimbo’ trope, typically used to describe someone attractive, hyper feminine, vapid, blah, blah, blah, now signifies complexity, freedom, renewed femininity and critical thought. Without wasting too many words overexplaining this premise or things you probably already know, some understanding of this helps in unpicking Sydney artist cherry chola’s latest release.
Bimbo Esoteria is her debut album, following last year’s EP ✿★⁂. Made in collaboration with producer Chico Sonido, Bimbo Esoterica continues cherry’s brand – clad in synthetic bikini tops, violet saturated images and sanrio. Musically, it’s reggaeton at its core, with flourishes of EDM and gabber; the latter an evolution beyond her original sound.
Opening with a play on a Daddy Yankee classic, ‘Gasolinita’ showcases cherry’s perfectly trimmed vocals; with underlying effects that aren’t immediately obvious, but give it a slick, shimmery and sexy highlight. The snappy repetition of her vocals on ‘Kitty Kawaii’ acts as a sort of percussive imitation, a clever crux used across a lot of tracks on Bimbo Esoteria. ‘Chupeta’ is another one: chittering, twittering, short, crisp, muted consonants; lyricism as a response to instrumentation.
‘Intoxicame’ is when you are in the thick of it – deeper, fleshy, heavy rubber band bass and slick synth waves, cutting through sweet auto-tuned vocals. It’s a realisation of cherry’s new direction, a play on EDM – almost hyperpop on ‘Angel Elixir’. EDM as, arguably, a prolific bimbo genre that’s also having its moment with acts like Snow Strippers and Bassvictim. It’s mesmerising, hypnotic and brainless in the most beautiful, raw and mindless way. There’s almost nothing more to it than it sounds good, feels good and simply is good. Empty, sleazy, femme.
Bimbo Esoteria is a perfect debut album in that it introduces new sounds to an already beautiful foundation. For cherry chola, the concept of Bimbo Esoterica is perhaps not that complicated at all – but a commitment to what she knows, loves, and does so well: the simple promise of fun and a hell of a party.
Words by Rhea Thomas