Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
Jim Cherewick admits he recently went through a breakup.
But it’s not the kind of breakup that immediately comes to mind.
“A lot of it is about leaving that terrible retail [job],” said Cherewick, who previously worked at a big-box store. “It was such a burden—it was sad and it was scary. Getting out of that was so important and needed.”
Cherewick addresses that professional split on “Frosting on Fire,” the melancholic opener from the Ypsilanti, Michigan singer-songwriter/visual artist’s latest indie-country-folk album Good News.
Backed by somber acoustic guitar and keys, he sings, “Questions stick to my bones / Like how much longer do we get another try here? / Making every single day a treasure cause I’m awake / And I won’t complain, no I won’t complain / I work at one of those stores.”
“As much as I didn’t want to write about it, I did because I wrote it during [the pandemic],” Cherewick said. “The job sucked, and it was soul-crushing. It was so bad, and then they would cut hours, and then they’d be hiring new people.”
Despite that soul-crushing experience, Cherewick finds fleeting moments of catharsis and gratitude on Good News. The album’s eight tracks reflect on the harsh realities of everyday life and yearn for an escape from drudgery, disappointment, and uncertainty.
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