Check out today’s free download of the day from our latest tip for the top, Cherry Lips. Click here for previous Tracks Of The Day.

In the beginning there was Tim Parks, British novelist. Tim wrote a bunch of semi-famous books*, which made him enough bread to drop out of the rat race completely. He yanked up the tent poles and moved the family to a small town near Verona, Italy, where they mixed in with the locals and (I’m guessing) sipped a lot of tea and grew tomato plants. But then his daughter, Stefania, went off to high school in Verona and discovered rock’n’roll, and he hasn’t a moment’s rest ever sense. He is very much hoping this band thing pans out so she can go on tour and let him get back to work.

Stefania formed Cherry Lips back in 2004 with her high-school chum Karima. They both wore the same shade of lipstick (hence the band moniker), so it was fate, really. Stef checked around, and there was no Italian Joan Jett, so she became one, even though she’s really British. The band went through the usual line-up shuffles and finally got it together enough to hit the studio in ’08, where they recorded a clutch of pop-soaked glam tunes that sound not unlike Suzi Quatro making sweet 70’s love to Ace Frehley’s guitar. It’s music for pinball rallies and roller-rinks, the glorious results of a misspent youth set to sticky bubbleglam and balls-out, cowbell-bashing snot-rock.

Initial copies were pressed on vinyl and sold at shows. All the cool (Italian) kids have ‘em, but if you’re reading this, you’re probably already out of luck in that department. Luckily the with-it hair-shakers at Swedmetal Records (conveniently located in Rock N’ Roll City, Sweden), home of Sleaze-faves Glorious Bankrobbers and United Enemies, snatched it up and released it worldwide in February. Italian rock bands rarely break out beyond regional fame, mostly because they rarely sing in English. Cherry Lips, however, have an English rose up front, which means we can enjoy all the benefits of an all-girl Italian rock band (an obsession with sugary glam-rock, hot Italian chicks in tight pants), and still understand what they’re singing about. So, everybody wins.

Girl bands always get compared to other girl bands, so if you want the estrogen alchemy, it’s pretty much Rock Goddess plus the Muffs with a side order of that Cherie and Marie Curie record from 1980. Something like that.

Here’s the altogether stadium-rocking Back for More, from their debut. If you dig it, by all means, snatch the record up from Swedmetal.

Click here for Cherry Lips – Back for More.

Oh, and if you want to see how much pink you can jam into one video, check out their clip for Hot, Mean And Nasty.

Check out the Cherry Lips Myspace for even more details.

Click here for previous Tracks Of The Day.