Jono Moulds checks out the new album from Scarlet Rebels for The Rock & Roll Circus. See Through Blue is due for release on 28 Jan 2022 via Earache Records.
‘See Through Blue’ is ‘Scarlet Rebels' second album, following 2019's acclaimed Show Your Colours.
All the rage and fear and uncertainty of recent times has been poured into the album's 12 tracks, resulting the rarest of rock'n'roll albums: one with a sense of purpose.
Wayne Doyle, (Vocals and guitar) states, "There's a lot of defiance and hope on this album," says Wayne of songs such as euphoric opener I'm Alive and gasoline-fuelled arena-filler-in-waiting Take You Home. "To those who feel alone, raise your hands and we'll take you home," he sings on the latter.
"My thing has always been to write songs that go somewhere, that tell a story” He, says. "I don't want us to be a band who just write songs for the sake of it."
Like all the great bands, Scarlet Rebels have a deep connection to where they come from. A fiercely working-class town on the South Wales coast, Llanelli's DNA is embedded deep within the band.
"Growing up, you take the place you're from for granted, but all your experiences are shaped by it," he says. "Coming from Llanelli has given us a really strong work ethic. We've been told so many times we need to move to London. I was, like, 'Why? Why do I need to do that?' We've had to scrap every single inch to get where we are, but we've done it on our terms."
Off we go then, with the first of 12 songs on the brand-new album by ‘Scarlet Rebels’ – ‘See through Blue’, with the opening introduction, that is ‘I'm Alive’. A simple, but mightily impressive and ever so slightly distorted guitar riff leads the way, which is quickly followed by the drums, rolling into action.
From the off, the song has a classic rock feel sound to it(reminds me of Thunder in some respects, both in terms of the music and vocal). I’m already fixated, as I pick up on the great production and mix the song has, where every nuance the song possesses comes through beautifully. At just a little over three minutes, the tune is done and dusted very quickly, but this has been a great start.
Second tune in already, and we are heading for a ‘Storm’. Another guitar riff (or is it a guitar lick?) starts off proceedings, before a punctuated attack from all instruments sharply brings a brief stop gap, but this is momentary, as we are soon back up and running. The verse kicks in with a descending melody line, which has an unusual structure to it, but is intense and works a treat. As much as the verses took us on a different kind of ride, the chorus kicks in and has all the classic ingredients, that is, top support vocal, great underlying guitar and is super catchy. I’m loving the section of the song that leads into the guitar solo piece. This has imagination and adds some extra colour and value to the tune.
And so, onto ‘London Story’ as the opening guitar line completes its task, we move at pace into the opening verse, where there is a change of arrangement/direction, and for me, there is a hint of ‘Queens of the Stone Age’s’ ‘No one Knows’ coming in at me. As we enter the verses, there is a subtle, yet noticeable addition of a secondary guitar that’s been added into the mix. This softly sits above the main guitar and adds a well-placed ‘sparkle’ to the verses. As with the first verse, the ‘chorus?’ (I think it’s the chorus) comes straight in after, and kicks in with great effect. The tune has more than enough of a commercial edge to it, but without losing the power of what is, a rock song. Tidy Darts boys.
An immediate, no hanging around intro welcomes in ‘These Days’ as guitars chords thrash and snare drums snap this song into life. Lyrically, it leans and delves psychologically into what we’ve all been going through (and continue to) over the past 20 months or so, that is the ‘pandemic’. However, this tune raises some hope, even within the song’s melody line and arrangement, as what we have here is commercially astute and is really upbeat (it’s a top Rock song, with some magic dust sprinkled over it for good measure), where, given the subject matter, you’d think it would be far more melancholic and send you on right downer. Musically, there are some great touches – love the bass lines, that feature in areas and the solo work has a cool, bluesy resonance to it that fits perfectly. Love it.
‘Take you Home’ has more licks and riffs in the intro that you can shake a stick at and shimmers into life and at some pace. This tune is a 100% classic rock beauty. It has pace and drive that can’t be denied and will have you rocking and shaking your head from the first second it starts, ‘Doyle’s’ vocals are really on point and sound superb throughout. Yet again, they really make the chorus come alive, with a lovely melody line cutting all the way through it, ably supported by some underlying guitar work. Even the mid-point change of pace has an interesting vibe to it, which leads into the guitar piece of the song, full of WAH effected ROCK! Wonderful stuff like ‘Doc Brown’s Wake Up Juice’ , (‘Back to the Future’ fans will get the reference), this will sort you out after a night on the town.
A slower and more methodical opening to ‘I Can Sleep Now’ as a lone guitar plays a simple picked chord structure, just before ‘Doyle’ comes in with first verse, as he sings ‘I need you now – not for anything’ – sounds ominous!! I’ve always been amazed how effective just a guitar and vocal can sound, given the way a song has been written and arranged. In this case, it works superbly. A secondary guitar line is quickly introduced, which adds some illumination and colour. The song starts to build after the opening minute or so and the ‘ramp up’ is executed effortlessly, as subtle chord change sends the band on a new trajectory and we up and running. The bridge brings far more
power to the track, that sets the scene for the guitar to do its thing. It’s only when ‘Doyle’ screams and sustains the last note, that we settle things back down. Brilliant song. I’m half way through the album, and this has been mightily impressive.
‘I Can't Say’ starts off with some crisply struck, palm muted guitar chords, backed up by a ‘jungle infused’ drum pattern that already has me hooked in further anticipation of what’s to come. As we move through the opening section of the song, it reveals itself to be another, cleverly constructed rock song that has some great moments, no more so though that constant and mesmerising rhythm that it possesses throughout. The chorus swiftly arrives, and once again its infectious and hits all the
commercial ‘Rock’ markers, that the band have laid down (there’s simply no let up!! – WOW!!). The guitar solo WAH’s into life (is that an actual saying?? - It is now) before it resolves itself to a sudden halt, along with the rest of the band. There’s more of the chorus section to finish, but why not, it’s that good, you’ll want more of it, so don’t fret. Great song, again!!!!!
A tight snare drum, double hit leads us into ‘Take It’, where its soon met by what feels like a twin guitar battle, as one plays an almost slide like run, while the other locks things in place by striking out its counterpart chord. After this, the tune fragments, as the verse section is sung over just drums. bass and the counterpart guitar. As we move through verse sections, the opening riff is brought back into play, but this time, its slightly more understated, as that ‘slide’ vibe is replaced by the same sequence, but this time played more as a standard riff (nice touch). A short pre-chorus makes way for a powerful, albeit, short and effective chorus. This song is another great addition to the album and is by no means out of place whatsoever.
‘Leave a Light on’ starts off very simply, that being, an acoustic guitar, piano and smooth vocal, which announce at lightning speed ‘Take me back to that old dark room – where we learned all those rules, and the hunger never died’ This is indeed a slight move away from the body of songs that have come before, but never the less, has its own beauty and place. The tune is without doubt a ballad in both pace and form, as we head away from the opening strains and finally, at ‘rivers meet’, the chorus awaits, which has a strength, both lyrically and musically. This tune has a lot of special qualities, which will resonate with many people, as they decipher their own personal meaning within the tune’s lyrics. A really top-notch song. Bravo.
‘We're Going Nowhere’, has an almost ‘Zeppelin/Page’ like guitar introduction, which certainly has a ‘bluesy’ feel to it. The initial riff is put to one side through the opening verse, but, this ‘flits’ back and forth throughout the song as it’s ‘go-to’ piece. The chorus, is once again very strong, in a melodical and likeable sense, where I’m instantly attracted to it on first spin (as with many on the album). ‘Everything Changed’ is up next, which arrives with some impact, as things drive forward with a solid drum rhythm, and an ascending, two chord progression. However, as the singing comes in, the whole vibe of the song changes as the opening overdriven sound is ‘stripped back’ to leave a constant kick drum, deep bass and some light guitar work. Things start to ‘motor’ back through the gears once again as the band hit the chorus, and the whole ensemble bring back the power. From chorus, there is a very smart guitar line that brings in the brief, but impactful solo, and all of a sudden, we are back onto a repeat of the chorus and then on our way to its conclusion.
Finally, onto the album’s title track ‘See Through Blue’ which, and as the artwork of the album strongly suggests, is aimed at the current political mess that we all find ourselves living through. Lyrically, you can see this where ‘Doyle’ exclaims ‘A private party that colours a Nation – See through as Blue’ (I can only assume that ‘Blue’ being the colour of the Tories’, but I may be completely wrong). A subdued start to the track, where, just a guitar plays a gentle chord structure behind the vocal. Before the song ascends, and a second guitar line is introduced, which plays off its initial partner, as this continues for the first two minutes of this tune. You sense a musical change is upon us, as a jagged, crunch guitar breaks the mood of the song completely, which is also met by the rest of the band. It’s not an over powering change, but a change none the less, giving a musical sense of the frustrations that the band are feeling. The tune climaxes with ‘Bo-Jo’ ‘muttering’ in tandem with what sounds like the soft sounds of ‘crystal’ like keyboard effects.
I’ll make this as simple of a summary as I can. I’ve been very fortuitous this year to be given the opportunity to listen to and write reviews on some great bands. This is without doubt up there in my Top 3 reviewed albums (perhaps, my number 1!!). From start to finish, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every song, where there’s been a mix of ‘old school’ classic rock, and then, some other songs that firmly fit within the current contemporary bracket.
The production on this album is awesome, and the band have demonstrated their wares to great effect. Go out and buy this album. It’s as simple as that. Bloody marvellous.
Review by Jono Moulds
The album is available on Vinyl, CD, Cassette & Download via "LINK"
Scarlet Rebels are:
Wayne Doyle (vocals/guitar)
Chris Jones (lead guitar)
Josh Townshend (guitar)
Wayne ‘Pricey’ Esmonde (bass)
Gary Doyle (drums)
Ceri Davies
Presenter and Co-Director
