Roses Are Red "Conversations" CD
[Trustkill]
This is emo. Not great emo, but I do sort of like it. I'm a sucker for a catchy song. These guys could use a stronger recording and a better singer, but the songwriting's alright. Opener "White and Gold" definitely has a memorable chorus, if nothing else, which is a good start. The singing feels a little plain to me overall, the music is fairly thick and has a good level of energy to it, but the vocals often fail to match that. The screaming vocals, as infrequent as they are, serve no purpose at all though, so I'd rather them work on the singing to get stronger harmonies and a more colorful vocal range happening. Musically it's pretty typical "radio emo", you know? Think Taking Back Sunday and that kind of thing for a general idea of what to expect. It could definitely get pretty "popular". Lots of thick melodic chords, octave chords, basic structures, a little bit of layering and some minor shifts in dynamics/tempo, etc. Despite being one of the longer tracks, "Oceans" carries itself well and stays fluid throughout; "I Apologize" and "300 Motion Pictures" get a little more towards some pop-punk picking patterns and layering but still keep the tempo and drive on more of an emo level; "12:34" is a brief instrumental that's darker and sort of sappier with piano, synth orchestrations, and subtle programmed percussion (not bad, but would've been better were it developed into a complete track with vocals); but "You and Me Both" brings in some nice guitar interaction with some dissonant lines and more of a creatively dynamic composition overall (the best song herein, I'd say). The production definitely needs work, though. They're on the right track, but there's something missing here. The mix is pretty solid for the most part, but the tones need to be cleaner and fuller. The bass is closest to the mark because it's audible and punchy though still defined. The guitars follow with good density and texture, but they're just not crisp enough, you know? The brightness is a little dull, the lower-end isn't quite chunky enough, etc. The vocals have that going on as well, they just need a little polish. I think the drum tones are the real culprit though, because everything is too rigid and sort of pulls out from the core of the music, standing out too much and becoming distracting. Honestly, they really would benefit from one of those ultra slick major label jobs, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's where the end up anyway, so... Despite the fact that the band photos are again too "fashionable" for me (large color shots of individual band members appearing every few pages in the booklet), the layout does look nice and clean, with consistent arrangements and crisp text. Everything is printed on matte paper as well, which always adds a nice touch. The lyrics are personal and run the same ol' gamut of boring relationship stuff, you know, shattered dreams, references to "crimson" and whatnot... not for me. Like I said... not great, but I do sort of like it. I'm not blown away, there are good songs and mediocre songs, maybe a few that are actually pretty lame, but... these kids could drop some gems given time. (6/10)
Running time - 35:49, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: White and Gold, Oceans, You and Me Both]
Trustkill Records - http://www.trustkill.com

This review has been displayed 2080 times.