FML Music Spotlight: Cherry Bomb

After more than a decade of making music as the frontwoman of MisterWives, Mandy Lee is stepping into a world that is entirely her own. Cherry Bomb is her glitter-soaked solo project, an outlet for the ideas, emotions, and impulses that demanded somewhere new to live. Built from heartbreak, rebellion, and radical self-expression, it finds Lee embracing creative freedom without softening the edges.

Cherry Bomb takes its cues from the theatrical pop of Madonna and the punk spirit of Blondie, mixing space disco, sharp guitars, and diary-like confessionals with Lee’s signature powerhouse vocals. Beneath the glitter is something more personal. The project sees Lee confronting religious trauma, industry misogyny, relationships, and the expectations that come with spending much of her adult life in a band. Rather than separating those experiences from the spectacle, she makes them part of it.

Its opening statement, “Never Be Me (Motherfucker),” turns the end of a loveless relationship into a space disco kiss-off. “I came home that night from working on the song and just had it blasting in my headphones, dancing around my house alone. It just felt so cathartic,” Lee says. That feeling runs through the DNA of Cherry Bomb. The songs may come from complicated places, but they are meant to move, transforming anger, grief, and frustration into something euphoric.

The world surrounding the music is equally unapologetic. Feathers, tulle, saturated color, DIY fashion, and theatrical excess frame Cherry Bomb as an alter ego with little interest in restraint. Lee draws from the rebellious glamour of Vivienne Westwood and Betsey Johnson alongside the shape-shifting theatricality of David Bowie, creating a visual language that feels playful, messy, feminine, and deliberately larger than life.

But for all its bombast, Cherry Bomb is rooted in something simple: the freedom to choose yourself. It is Lee allowing herself to follow an idea without compromise, to be loud without apology, and to turn some of her most personal experiences into a world other people can disappear into. This is not about erasing what came before. It is about making space for another side of Mandy Lee to exist.

FML got the chance to sit down with Mandy Lee to talk about stepping into the world of Cherry Bomb, finding freedom outside of expectation, the stories behind the music, and what happens when you finally decide to light the fuse.

FML: Cherry Bomb feels less like a side project and more like an entirely new universe. At what point did you realize this music needed its own identity rather than becoming another chapter of MisterWives?

ML: For all of us in MisterWives, we’d spent the last decade touring and writing nonstop and it felt like the right time to honor a break. In that time off, inspiration called and I had to answer.

FML: You’ve described Cherry Bomb as a declaration of independence. What does independence mean to you today, beyond simply making music on your own?

ML: Besides getting into the technicalities of this chapter being a solo endeavor as a purely independent artist, the freedom is really felt in doing this project fully for my own creative expression while learning to trust my intuition without entertaining the fear of judgement.

FML: The project embraces maximalism, glitter, camp, vulnerability, and rebellion all at once. Why was it important that Cherry Bomb exist without limits or restraint?

ML: It would be such a disservice to create a whole project based on those pillars and then not honor her with constraints. She’s been such a helpful reminder and shining North Star anytime I feel the doubt start to creep, that usually means I have to lean further into the muchness of Cherry.

FML: “Never Be Me” transforms heartbreak into something euphoric. Why do you think dancing can sometimes communicate healing more honestly than sadness ever could?

ML: Being able to alchemize feelings into movement has always been the most cathartic release of whatever tension I’m carrying. I think it’s so intrinsically human and helps get you out of your mind and into your body.

FML: Religious trauma and industry misogyny are themes you’ve been open about exploring. How has turning those experiences into art changed your relationship with those experiences?

ML: The two feel pretty synonymous at this point but I think the further I untangle myself from the guilt, shame and fear embedded within me at such a young age, the closer I get to who I was before these patriarchal systems told me who to be.

FML: There is an interesting tension throughout Cherry Bomb between softness and defiance. Do you see vulnerability as a form of rebellion?

ML: Whether through her name, the music, the fashion and the visuals, Cherry Bomb is all about both extremes existing in one. I think the power of staying soft and vulnerable in a hard world is such an act of rebellion especially at a time where we are riddled with impossible standards and perfectionism. I’ve been craving the messy raw realness that makes us human.

FML: Madonna, Blondie, Robyn, and Kate Bush all embody fearless reinvention while remaining unmistakably themselves. What qualities from those artists continue to inspire you creatively?

ML: This is my Mount Rushmore! I never look at it as reinvention and more of an expansion and curiosity of who you are. These icons that paved the way are a masterclass in staying true to your identity while having the courage to grow and not stay one dimensional. That ethos is the core of Cherry and has helped me honor both the new and the old.

FML: You’ve described your sound as somewhere between space disco, punk, and what you’ve jokingly called “popera.” How did you arrive at that sonic language?

ML: While I don’t remember naming her space disco punk, I’ll take it – space sounds fun! To me the sound came after much experimenting when the canvas was blank without any parameters other than knowing I had to discover my own sonic identity. Making dance music while experimenting with different parts of my voice like ethereal operatic tones with distorted synths felt like such an exciting new territory that pulled from the past while making something totally new.

FML: Many people know Mandy Lee the frontwoman. Who is Cherry Bomb that audiences haven’t met yet?

ML: Having not played a show yet I haven’t met her either but am excited to see how this new chapter and creative process manifests live. Someone said recently Cherry is a yassified Mandy and while hilarious, there is merit to CB getting to be an even more bold and heightened version of myself.

FML: Throughout your career you’ve built an incredibly passionate community around your music. How has your relationship with your audience evolved as you’ve entered this more personal chapter?

ML: The live show has always been my ultimate love language and not having that euphoric connection and exchange the last couple of years has only further cemented how much of a lifeline it is. I feel so lucky to grow and be supported by such a fun, creative, hilarious and kind community who continue to inspire me. In this time away from tour I’ve been sending “Diva Mail” and shipping my songs out early to everyone who’s signed up, and I think having that analog, offline medium helps make our connection feel more real until I can be playing shows and seeing everyone face to face.

FML: Cherry Bomb celebrates taking up space unapologetically. Was learning to be “too much” something that came naturally, or something you had to actively reclaim?

ML: For better or for worse I never had to learn how to be too much and essentially came out of the womb with a boa singing “You Don’t Own Me.” If anything, this season of life has been getting back to that fearlessness and whenever I feel the urge to take up less space and second guess myself that’s usually the cue to expand.

FML: Your visuals feel just as important as the music itself. How do fashion, styling, and performance help complete the Cherry Bomb narrative?

ML: I’ve always found visuals and music to share such a symbiotic relationship; both inspire and inform one another. From styling, to fashion, to music videos, these mediums of self expression are such a reflection and expansion of the music that help vividly convey the world.

FML: You’ve spoken about breaking patterns of people-pleasing. Looking back now, what were some of those patterns that you didn’t even realize you were carrying until you began writing this project?

ML: Not acting on the question of “who will like this?” and rather “do I like this?” was such a compass in wanting to please myself instead of trying to please others. Doing this for so long you get used to the noise of external opinions and validation that can slowly start to creep into your psyche and this was the exposure therapy needed to relearn to trust myself without the false safety of approval.

FML: So much of Cherry Bomb feels like permission, both for yourself and for listeners. What do you hope someone struggling with self-worth takes away after hearing these songs?

ML: You are worthy just by existing! PERIOD! This album is my own pursuit of learning that worthiness and may she be a spark to anyone who forgot their own.

FML: The entertainment industry often pressures women to remain digestible or agreeable. Has Cherry Bomb allowed you to redefine success on your own terms?

ML: Absolutely! Success for me has simply been having the courage to do this project authentically and on my own terms without answering to an industry standard I never fit into.

FML: When listeners eventually hear the full body of work, what emotional journey do you hope they experience from the opening track to the final note?

ML: I hope this album is a bridge for anyone who needs help getting back to who they truly are.

FML: If MisterWives represented one chapter of your life and Cherry Bomb represents another, what do you hope this era says about who Mandy Lee has become, not just as an artist, but as a woman?

ML: That I’m still becoming.

Cherry Bomb may be “camp,” dressed in glitter and theatrical excess, but its most compelling quality is its honesty. In stepping outside the structure she has known for more than a decade, Mandy Lee is allowing instinct to lead, trading outside expectations for something far more interesting: curiosity. The result is a project that holds softness and rebellion in equal measure, where heartbreak can become a dance track and being “too much” is precisely the point.

For Lee, this chapter feels less concerned with arriving at a definitive new version of herself than embracing the freedom to keep evolving. Cherry Bomb is simply another dimension of an artist still discovering what she can become when the parameters disappear. As Lee puts it best, “I’m still becoming.”

Mandy’S #FMLFAVES

Favorite Song: “I Am Woman” – Helen Reddy
Favorite Movie: Moulin Rouge
Favorite Dish: Cherry Shortcake
What’s in your bag?: Everything.

Photography by Matty Vogel