After the emotional resonance of Heart of Blue, British multi-instrumentalist and genre-bending solo artist NickGCherryDot returns with Every Time, a ten-track sonic mosaic that cuts through the chaos with clarity and heart. Released on June 12, 2025, this 13th studio album is Nick’s most personal and polished offering yet — a self-produced journey of resilience, vulnerability, and sonic fearlessness.
From the very first moment of opener The Perfect Storm, it’s clear you’re entering a different kind of weather system. Waves of warm guitar licks, steady rhythmic undercurrents, and poetic lyricism create a dynamic listening experience that feels simultaneously vast and intimate. It’s both the eye of the storm and the storm itself — a metaphor that threads throughout the album, as Nick explores the tension between inner peace and emotional turbulence.
The title track, Every Time, is a standout — a hook-filled meditation on the patterns that trap us and the courage it takes to break free. “Every time I try to climb, I fall back into the rhyme,” Nick sings, with equal parts defiance and grace. It’s the kind of track that burrows under your skin, its melody wrapping around your head like a mantra. There’s a subtle nod to early ’90s Britpop here, with a songwriting structure that would feel at home on a Blur or Supergrass album, but Nick infuses it with his own offbeat charm and modern sensibility.
Next comes Can’t You Tell?, a track that somehow feels effortless and meticulous all at once. It boasts a polished groove reminiscent of Steely Dan, with crisp guitars dancing alongside funky basslines and a sly lyrical wink. The song leans into Nick’s gift for contrast — melancholy disguised as optimism, or maybe the other way around. You’ll want to replay it just to catch the instrumental nuances that flicker through like little fireflies of detail.
Where Heart of Blue felt like a diary cracked open, Every Time is a living document — messier, louder, but ultimately more liberating. Nick wrote, recorded, and mastered every element himself, and that control radiates from every corner of the project. From the tight drum fills on Fallen Off the Edge of the World to the yearning acoustic fingerpicking in When I See You There, this is an artist who doesn’t just play music — he lives inside it.
Like a Spinning Top serves as the emotional centerpiece, whirling in and out of themes of disorientation and drive. It’s vulnerable without being indulgent, anchored by Nick’s calm yet expressive vocal delivery. One minute it’s light, almost whimsical; the next, it dives into a pool of late-night introspection. The balance he strikes here is what gives the album its weight — a sense that this isn’t just a collection of songs, but a statement of survival.
On Love Keeps Listening, Nick offers a rare moment of clarity amidst the swirl of overthinking and emotional static. With its lush harmonies and echoing guitar work, it has the warmth of a late summer afternoon and the wisdom of someone who’s spent time in darkness but found something worth returning to. It’s not preachy, it’s not melodramatic — it’s just real. And that’s what Nick does best.
One of the more surprising moments comes with Italian Time, a largely instrumental piece that veers into almost ambient, jazzy territory. It feels cinematic, like the soundtrack to a vintage European road movie. It’s both a palette cleanser and a showcase of Nick’s expansive musicality, proving once again he’s not afraid to step outside traditional structures.
Closing with All In Your Hands, the album doesn’t resolve so much as it opens up. “It’s all in your hands, but it slips through like sand,” Nick sings, in what feels like a final whisper to the listener. It’s a poignant reminder that even with control comes impermanence — a theme that runs deep through every chord and lyric of the album.
But perhaps what makes Every Time most remarkable is the man behind the music. NickGCherryDot, who’s been open about his experiences with bipolar disorder, channels those ups and downs not just as subject matter, but as fuel. The manic energy and depressive lulls aren’t sanitized — they’re honored. And in doing so, he gives listeners more than just songs. He gives them permission to feel, to falter, to begin again.
Fans of alternative rock, Britpop, Americana, and introspective singer-songwriter fare will all find a home here. Think a jam session between The Beatles and My Morning Jacket, with Radiohead quietly remixing in the background — and you’re still only scratching the surface.
With Every Time, NickGCherryDot has created an album that feels like a conversation — not just between artist and listener, but between past and present, storm and stillness, fear and faith. It’s a reminder that even when life spins like a top, music can be the hand that keeps us grounded.
Listen close. Because Every Time, there’s something new to discover.
