Reds "s/t" CD
[self-released]
The lyrics and packaging kind of had expecting fast hardcore/punk, but instead this is jangly and discordant emo/indie rock with yelling/screaming vocals. You'll find three quick tracks covering a range of tempos from the fast paced and somewhat caustic "Do it. Do it." to the driving chord progressions of the more direct and memorable "Dividing Unions". Opener "Lost Tapes From the Federal Sessions" gives the bass parts a little more room to roam around with less distortion over the guitars, also layering in some background vocals for added texture, and that's kind of a nice touch. Though it's the melodic tangents of the track's riffing that make it the strongest piece herein. For the most part the songs keep things short and to the point with a few stuttered changeups and a sense of constant urgency by blending a good melodic edge underneath tactfully loose playing and controlled dissonant note choices. The recording is really good for a demo and works nicely for this musical niche. The drums sound really strong and have a good snap, the bass adds a lot of density to the rhythm section, the guitars are warm and have a good lightly distorted texture without being too acerbic at all, and the vocals are reigned in against the instruments so as not to lean out front and get irritating. The CD-R is spraypainted black with the band logo stenciled on it in red, housed in a tasteful xerox on pink paper with a xeroxed lyrics insert on red paper. All in all making for a very tasteful D.I.Y. presentation. The lyrics are socio-political and basically deal with hope for a better world as far as fighting for equality and that sort of thing, but though the message is a common one the specific topics of things like gay marriage and the manner in which the lyrics are approached is definitely more sincere than your average band. I'm not too into this style of indie stuff on average, but this is enjoyable for what it is, and they've handled a lot of things better than most bands of this nature. My personal tastes hold me back a little bit, but based on the stronger moments in "Lost Tapes From the Federal Sessions" I wouldn't rule out being impressed by these guys in the future. Not bad. (6/10)
Running time - 8:31, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: Lost Tapes From the Federal Sessions, Dividing Unions]
Reds - http://www.wakingrecords.com/reds/

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