Red!

The Guillemots return with their latest album ‘Red’ on March 24th. For those that were familiar with the debut ‘Through The Windowpane’, this bunch always seemed a reliable bet when it came to delivering the goods. Their initial release was a big sounding dreamscape of a record, layered with lush strings and a free form, free range (almost) sense of acoustic accomplishment that knew how to drive in all the right places.

This follow up has enough ingredients not to alienate those that had a fondness for their original sound but it has to be said there have been modifications to the model this time around. There’s some real armour plated pop moments on this record, just check out the opening salvos in the form of ‘kriss kross’ and ‘big dog’ and the up and coming single ‘get over it’. Its like glam rock never happened with these successive chant along stomp friendly percussive monsters doubled over with shimmering and bristling guitar and sweeping Theremin sounds in the distance. You just know that in a live environment these are the songs that are going to tear the roof of and sling it somewhere into low orbit.

Its not all full throttle though, little moments like ‘Falling Out Of Reach’ have that gentle sunset moment feeling and show a band as confidence in taking a more relaxed approach as equally as when they are kicking the proverbial arse. Capturing a lyric that soars in conjunction with the music was something that proved to be something of a forte in the Guillemots camp and there is no shortage of such moments on offer here this time around. This time round the song writing credits have been democratically shared around the band and its paid dividends. Tracks like ‘Clarion’ deliver some quite delicious moments in terms of wordplay.
As I listen to the album one thing that strikes me is there is dynamism at work that almost makes you feel like you are listening to a grandiose series of dance music anthems in places (there are remix possibilities a plenty in evidence here). It might be the urgency and keenness of the production, the willingness to experiment perhaps but there really are very few weak moments in this release. Later in the album ‘Words’ and ‘Standing On The Last Star’ are perhaps a little bit whimsical for my taste but there is no way I could judge them as being outright bad songs, I think I was just caught in the wrong mood for their particular charms.

The album closes out with ‘Don’t Look Down’ and ‘Take Me Home’ in the case of the former track someone has been listening to more than a smattering of dub in terms of seeking their influences, with its insistent lolloping bassline and the gentle reflection of the latter piece. As a whole this is a confident progression for The Guillemots, the inclusive nature of the song writing process has no doubt helped them along the way and the willingness to allow a multitude of influences to infringe on their already interesting style has undeniably paid dividends. Excellent stuff that bodes well for the future if they continue down this path.