On their latest CD, Dream Days, Cherry Bikini delivers a collection of dance tracks that explore edgy sexuality in a fun way.

Cherry Bikini is a duo, made up of Sophie Boscallini and Armand Abagliani. Boscallini handles lyrics and vocals. She was born in a small mountain village near the French-Italian border, and brings an interesting accent and style to her vocals. Abagliani handles the keyboards & electronics programming.

Their previous CD, the self-titled Cherry Bikini, established their provocative, raw style with songs like Just Fuck Me and Come So Hard. In a recent interview with Synthtopia, they mentioned that the songs were prettier on this CD, and that the production was better. If anybody is worried about Cherry Bikini going soft, though, their worries are unfounded.

Cherry Bikini gets straight down to business with the kinky Feverish Days. Boscallini sings “I like getting sick and seducing young doctors” over a catchy euro-dance beat. This and other songs, like Traffic Sex and Big Muscle Guys, lyrically explore sex fantasies from the perspective of a woman.

While Cherry Bikini’s lyrics are often about sex, Boscallini sings in a somewhat detached style, emphasizing dreamy fantasy imagery rather than explicit sexuality. The catchy tunes and infectious beats make it all sound almost….wholesome.

The best tracks explore female feelings of pleasure and bliss. The lyrics of Disco Party at first sound like standard dance track fair:

Three martinis – I’m in a Ferrari
Going to Cannes for a disco party
Boys with nice hair and expensive cologne
Pull me aside to get me alone

Three martinis – I’m in a Ferrari
Going to Nice for a disco party
Pink haired girl – nice smooth hips
Pulls me aside kisses me on the lips

Monte Carlo – a vodka morning
He’s looking at me but he does nothing for me

On second listen, though, Boscallini’s lyrics explore a woman’s joy at being desired, by glamorous people and in glamorous places. It’s about power, too, because she can pick and choose who she’s interested in.

Another track, Red Sweater, uses repitition to convey the singer’s almost hypnotic state:

I forget about the world
With your hands inside my red sweater
It all becomes an erotic blur
With your hands inside my red sweater

I’m just a violent young girl
With your hands inside my red sweater
It all becomes an erotic blur
With your hands inside my red sweater

While Boscallini’s lyrics are the first thing many listeners will notice, Abagliani’s music is what make the tracks catchy as hell. The songs are hook-filled and have great dance beats. Clever drum programming and interesting sounds help make the tracks on Dream Days club-friendly.

Dream Days is a great dance CD, fun and sexy, and with hooks out the wazoo. If there’s a problem with this release, it is the CD’s length. At 47 minutes, it’s over a little…..prematurely. It would be great if Cherry Bikini could fill out the CD with some extended dance versions of a few of these tracks. Several of the tracks could have great club potential, if they were remixed with DJ’s in mind.

There’s still no Sextronica section at Wal-Mart. Instead, Dream Days is available through CD Baby and at the Cherry Bikini site.