Fresh new music from Red Car Burns
'When Everything Seems To Be In Silence' is the debut release for Red Car Burns, a new band of pop-punk/Indie origin. Red Car Burns' sound comprises mainly of catchy yet serious melodies and riffs, heavy use of bass and drums and grating vocals to create a sound that's fresh and mature, while still holding on to that school-band, semi-acoustic appeal. The balance in sound is purposefully unequal and very heavy on the bass lines, so much so that they almost drown out the rest of the band and tend not to deviate from the same sequence of note patterns; thus becoming tight and uninteresting at times. Still, this technique does seem to work well with the guitars, which are very energetic and lively; producing that fresh punk-like rhythm that you just can't help but nod your head and jump around to. Red Car Burns simply enjoy life and music and their music seems to put across this passion in a feel-good sort of way. Musically, their songs are easy enough to listen to; despite the lyrics not making a great deal of sense a lot of the time. However, this appears to be simply part of the act rather then being due to the fact that the band themselves are of a foreign origin. Their sound is subtle, with its mediocrity there's nothing here that hasn't already been done before but there's still something that makes Red Car Burns a great deal of fun to listen to.
The guitars are, as previously mentioned, very energetic and speed down the scales and riffs like a hare on speed, while still retaining a clean and smooth sound that gives the music a very fresh and lively appeal. On his own the guitarist would probably create an interesting performance but with no allowance for solos in any of the songs, he takes his opportunity to show off his teamwork skills. His melodies intertwine and weave in and out of the bass and vocal lines in a very clean-cut and professional way. Such playing gives Red Car Burns the edge they need to break out of their very tight and often mediocre way of working and gives them a boost, especially when the vocals cut out. Indeed there is very little wrong with the instrumental side of Red Car Burns and in songs such as 'Novembreh', which are lively, energetic and clean in their style, the bass and guitars are at their very best. It is in these songs that focus on the importance of appreciating life and everything that you have while you still can, that you can really see how well the band work together as a whole. Emotion seeps through the gentle melody lines and engulfs you in sheer musical passion as the bass forces its way through the guitar rhythm and almost purrs with its dark and melancholic quality, complimenting the clean sound of the guitars.
It's really the vocals that tend to let this band down with the lead vocalist having a voice that can purr softly and also grate like bare skin on a brick wall at the same time. Used in the correct manner this voice would be a perfect addition to the band's sound and would create something magical within the music. Unfortunately the lead vocalist shows little melodic vocal ability, rarely following the melody set by the guitar and hardly ever showing variation in his note patterns, thus making the songs sound dull and mediocre; all having similar sound qualities. He also has a tendency to go very flat while singing, even more so while screaming and thus comes across as a vocalist who is still very much in the amateur stages of learning vocals. It is a great shame because the backing vocals are smooth and work beautifully with the rest of the band; if more of these vocals had been included then perhaps the weaknesses in the lead would have been supported a little better and wouldn't have been so noticeable, as when they do sing together, it improves the lead vocalist's performance a lot. It is only in the very beautiful and emotive 'Near Here' that the lead vocalist is tolerable to listen too, when he swaps his growling and grating for a much more melodic smoother style that really seems to help his intonation a great deal. Here his vocals weep over the gentle guitaring and create a romantic yet saddening mood to the song. If he were to sing like this a lot more in future, it would really bring out the good points that Red Car Burns have to offer.
This is most certainly not to say that Red Car Burns are not a good band musically, for their instrumental talents prove again and again that they are certainly very talented. Their musical structure is very well developed and the bassist and guitarist show a great deal of skill and passion in what they do, always working well together especially in the faster and more energetic songs on the album. What causes the few problems that they have is seemingly a lack of experimentation melodically. They tend to cling to the same basic melodies and note patterns all the way through a good deal of the album which makes for tiresome listening after a while as many of the songs become very similar to one another. This distracts from the delicious harmonies, riffs and bends that the guitarists create which makes them stand out as a band.
There is a lot of promise waiting to be unleashed within this fresh introduction to Red Car Burns' music but it is very clear that they still have quite a way to go before they can truly reach where they need to be musically. They are certainly worth a listen though, especially for fans of punk-pop and Indie, by which Red Car Burns seem to be heavily influenced. In short, Red Car Burns will be one of those bands you will either really love or dislike heavily and it is worth giving them a good chance before deciding.