REDS - Demo

taken from scene it all

One of my best friends in the entire music community is Evan, the mastermind behind one of the most instrumental DIY labels of our day, Waking Records. Waking Records has not only released some of the most beautiful screamo music of this decade, but Evan uses the proceeds of each release to benefit the art program of the school he himself teaches at. This guy is as solid as it gets, and his talent for spotting amazing music is unwavering. Evan has decided to take his love for music to the mic, and has formed a new band entitled Reds, in which he is the vocalist. Reds has recently released their first demo, which is three tracks of killer punk rock, and is only a fore bearing of what this band has in store for fans of good music.

If you find yourself being skeptical as to how good this band really is, and if Evan can perform as good as he can produce, then your doubts will quickly be destroyed as soon as the first track starts. “Lost Tapes From The Federal Sessions”is the epitome of independent punk, and is raw and genuine every second of it's existence. Vocally, Reds kick serious ass, they've got that spastic rock sound that I personally love a lot, and sounds like the cry of a man with a lot to say. The guitar rhythms are perfect, and the background vocals are awesome, as they add a little edge to each track. It should be mentioned that Reds are excellent songwriters as well, as clever as they are on this demo, I can't wait to hear what other messages they will concoct for future releases.

“Do It. Do It.” starts off with a much heavier intro, and has a very screamo style vocal sound. This track is running on a faster pace than the previous, and all around this is an awesome song, that has the potential to stick in your head for days. If one of my teachers back in high school had a band in which he screamed “At least I'm fucking trying, what the fuck have you done?”, that would have been funny as hell, I wonder what Evans students think of having this amazing performer as their teacher, hopefully they can appreciate his style, otherwise they're seriously missing out on a fine opportunity.

The demo's final track “Dividing Unions” immediately leads into what I'd consider Evan's best vocals on the entire demo. He sounds so great on this song, I can't even begin to explain how motivating his lyrics are either. Their musical side is so serene and melodic, you have to give it to this entire band for producing raw music that is lacking in nothing at all. “Diving Unions” is by far my favorite track off the album, and hands down conveys the most power of the entire cd. The lyrics convey the concept that sometimes what we find happiness in isn't what we expected it to be or even what others insist it should be, for instance the love between two people. A classic line is “We can't be choked by our traditions”, that verse should certainly impose some sort of thinking process in you as it could possibly have a meaning for us all.

If you're wondering why we're covering a demo for review, then let me tell you right now that I do not consider this release by Reds a demo. A demo sometimes is looked at as something thrown together in hopes to get future fans or possibly a record deal. What Reds has produced is no less amazing as any other “professional” music created this year. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the three mesmerizing tracks over and over again, and I still can't really get enough. Lyrically this is a poetic band with a lot to say. They've certainly got the talent to express their passions, and they have enough heart to impound their thoughts into our own. If at this point you're excited to get your hands on this, luckily for you Reds has posted their demo on their website for all to download. Keep the name Reds in mind, because I guarantee you're going to be hearing a lot more from them very soon. Let's just hope Evan is good enough to convince Waking Records to do a full-length some day.