Cheena - Spend the Night With

NYC punk newcomers Cheena might well be thousands of miles away from the UK, but they possess similarities to the country’s sleazy grunge trademarks. Formed in 2014 with Margaret Cardiet (Pharmakon) and members of Hank Wood & the Hammerheads and Crazy Spirit, the group collectively bring Lou Reed’s thrashy punches, the heavy sounds of the Dolls and hometown glamour of Kiss to their brutally honest debut album ‘Spend the Night With’.

Cheena drag themselves off to familiar late nights out, pounding mosh pits and whiskey sessions. Opener ‘Cry For Help’ goes full speed ahead, ploughing through murkiness with grinding guitars riffs and country punk howls. Singer Walker Behl’s gnarly yelps on ‘Car’ unravel scrappy tales with the words “stare at the wall with bottle of gin”; before stumbling into a night of drunken haze and bad decisions. Current single ‘Stupor’ oozes with 1970s rock glamour, belting with sliding guitars and swaggering vocals for an emphatic finish.

‘Spend the Night With’ is rough around the edges, but it thrives under this approach.