CHERYM x Uninvited – The After Party (Alcopop! Records/ Final Girl Records)
In an epic pop-punk pair up Derry’s CHERYM and Glasgow’s Uninvited have joined forces for a AA single release featuring tracks Sofa Bed and Liar! (Despise You) under the title The After Party
Artist: CHERYM x Uninvited
Track: Liar! (Despise You) / Sofa Bed
Label: Alcopop! Records / Final Girl Records
Released: 29 October 2025
Find it: YouTube
As collabs go Derry’s CHERYM and Glasgow’s Uninvited joining forces is an absolute belter – and the result is not one, but two absolute pop-punk bangers.
Released as a AA single called The After Party we’re first offered Liar! (Despise You), a vicious air-punch shout-along where the vitriol is turned inward as much as toward the person you know is bad news yet remains irresistible.
Uninvited said Liar! (Despise You) was about, “finding out the person who you thought you knew isn’t that person at all, but somehow still finding yourself drawn to them. Gritty guitars and stacked melodies inspired by ’00s pop-punk help drive the point in this song.”
All that, and chant vocals and drums only in the bridge this is a track which transported me straight from being a middle-aged woman driving through a Derbyshire village in the Autumn rain to being in a sun-bleached break-up montage in an American teen flick. Pop-punk perfection.
Which sets the bar high for the flip side (digitally speaking) and Sofa Bed. I won’t dance around whether the second track matches up – mainly because I am too busy actually dancing around to yet another pop-punk hit.
CHERYM said of the track, “Sofa Bed is a song about coming to realise romantic feelings you may be having about someone you would consider a close friend, and never fully understanding the connection between the both of you. I feel like this type of situation is so common within the WLW community and is so much a part of the early sapphic experience.”
Romantic yearning and messy feelings take the centre, an ever-so-slightly slower pace to carry it along. The big melodic riffs are still aplenty, and there’s another immensely catchy sing-a-long chorus to turn up loud.
Of the collaboration CHERYM said, “It was an absolute dream come true collaborating with Uninvited on this one, we LOVE them so much and it made perfect sense for us to do this together. Both bands in the alt rock scene, both queer, both not ashamed to admit losing hours of our lives, sat in front of the TV watching Kerrang! in the early 2000s. It’s safe to say we knew quite early on the exact type of collaboration we wanted to make and saw it as an opportunity to create something that would make our younger selves feel seen and valued. It’s McBusted but more homoerotic and way better looking.”
Uninvited said, “Working on this release with CHERYM has been the best experience. Their energy, creativity, and authenticity brought so much to the track, and the process was inspiring and exciting from start to finish. A true meeting of minds. We are really proud of what we have created together—it really captures the magic of collaboration and the spirit of Derry’s own CHERYM <33”
Both tracks brilliantly evoke the 00s pop-punk sound: the distinct accent (it’s a thing) breaking in around their own regional tones, the bright yet buzzing guitar lines and lyrics which compel a sing-a-long as a way of freeing the feelings from your chest. With massive energy, smart lines and pure emotions, matched to gritty guitars, bouncing rhythms and stacks of melodic riffs this AA is an absolute winner whichever side you play first.
~
The After Party featuring tracks Liar! (Despise You) and Sofa Bed by CHERYM and Uninvited is out digitally now.
Find CHERYM: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Find Uninvited: Facebook | Instagram
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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