Strawberry Switchblade were a Glaswegian Synth-Pop duo that consisted of Rose McDowall and Jill Bryson. The duo were known for their colorful appearance with tons of bows and polka-dots, and upbeat songs which masked dark lyrics. Unfortunately, they only released one album, which featured their only hit song on it, the #5 UK hit single "Since Yesterday". They split after the parent album underperformed and later singles flopped.
Remember the tropes you've locked away:
- Author Phobia: Invoked. "Trees and Flowers" is about Jill's agoraphobia.
- Cover Version: Dolly Parton's "Jolene".
- Genre Mashup: "Since Yesterday" is a mixture of proto-twee jangly pop and electropop, with a bit of Sibelius thrown in as well.
- Japandering: "Ecstacy (Apple of My Eye)". Done for the
Money, Dear Boy. - Lyrical Dissonance: Frequently. "Since Yesterday" is a perky number about a broken love affair or even suicide note . "Trees And Flowers" is a gentle pastoral number about agoraphobia.
- One Album Band/Self-Titled Album: Their only album, Strawberry Switchblade.
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Spiritual Successor: Switchblade Symphony, who was also comprised of two women with a goth look and contemporary pop sound (in their case trip-hop). According to Rose McDowell, they initially also wore polka dot dresses but stopped to distance themselves from Strawberry Switchblade and to more plausibly deny influence.- Rose later released a solo album entitled Cut with the Cake Knife, made of demos intended for a second Strawberry Switchblade album yet until then remained unreleased due to the group's breakup.
- Strawberry Shorthand: Subverted. Strawberry motifs are used to soften their dark lyrics.
