|  Red
Wanting Blue
Pride: The Cold Lover
(Independent- 2004)
by Corey J. Feldman
Particularly in the rock/pop genre, any
given band must find a way to differentiate their sound from
others trying to fill the same niche, and that very originality
is the basis on which a band can grow. For Red Wanting Blue,
their passion and energy delineates a powerful live feel.
All too often an overproduced rock/pop artist will create
an album that cannot be recreated live, but RWB’s new
release, “Pride: The Cold Lover,” intrigues the
listener enough to incite a desire to actually see the band
perform.
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Vocalist / lyricist Scott Terry supports the band
with his powered, full, meaty voice, which often seems to echo into
the background of RWB’s delicate melodies. They remind me
of a more soulful, less commercial Eve 6 with lyrics that speak
to their darker, edgy musical moods. Their opening track, “Leaving
Behind,” sets the tone: “And now there is crying and
goodbye-ing / No / I’ve had enough I’ve had too much
/ This feeling strains me / I’ve had too much / This feeling
drains me / With so much at stake / I am leaving behind the shortcuts
/ To find the long way home.”
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<<The
RWB Discography
Their tunes, though all different and unique,
did have a tendency to blend together on first and second
listen. However, there is no doubt each song has its own
flavor while distinctly remaining the realm of the original
sound and genre they seem to be aiming for. Some songs are
slow and sad, while others are just rocking, but all of
them are clearly of a specific genre, which seems to lack
a little versatility.
Though RWB is mostly fueled
by guitar, a song like “Pride Is a Lonely Blanket”
is built around piano, which I would like to have heard
more often on the album. On the contrary, I found it intriguing
that the only song outwardly claiming to be about pride
(on an album called “Pride: The Cold Lover”),
is the only piano based song.
While many of RWB’s
lyrics exemplify a band’s passion and power, others,
like “The Formula,” can dabble in the plain
and cliché: We’ll never last if we follow the
formula / We’ll draw outside the lines just to prove
that / We are what we are / Unfortunate scars / But we’ll
be the ones you hang on to.” This is ironic, because
the song claims to draw outside the lines, when using that
very phrase is within the lines.
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Pride:
The Cold Lover
(2004) |
Souvenirs
of City Life
(2003) |
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Sirens
(2002) |
Model
Citizen
(2000) |
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The
Image Trigger
(1999) |
Velveteen
(1998) |
There is definitely a great deal of energy in this
album’s music and lyrics. Pride: The Cold Lover is an album
that can easily inspire a listener to want to see the band. When
you can hear a band’s live potential on a ten song album,
they’ve definitely achieved an important goal, and RWB does
this with ease. They are a band of great potential, though I think
it might do them some good to get gutsier with their songwriting,
and really try to overstep the lines they’ve boldly created
for themselves in this release.
You Dig, You'll Dig:
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O.A.R.
34th & 8th |
Guster:
Keep It Together |
Live:
Awake- The Best of... |
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O.A.R.
Any Time Now |
Guster:
Lost & Gone Forever |
From Amazon.com |
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