The new Reds, Pinks & Purples offer a rich dose of nostalgia for a particular constituency. Those for whom Felt, The Smiths, Pavement and Belle & Sebastian are probably the Four Apostles but who could on any given day knock any one of them off this list and plump for The June Brides instead without feeling guilty about it.
I probably count myself among this congregation myself. I revere the same records these people do but I find the conservatism of the approach of bands like The Reds, slightly unnerving sometimes . After all their latest album Uncommon Weather comes out on the same Friday in April, (this one) as Damon Locks' latest and I have little doubt which record has more to offer.
Still, I'm highly taken by both.Uncommon Weather acts as a soundtrack for the fifty something Indie kid couples from the eras Golden Age to unwind to on the sofa once the kids have gone to sleep. That's a pretty good public service.
The Reds stick to their script. There are no surprises here although there are some very good song titles. Some nice wan moments. Will certainly listen to this again. It's spiritual home is probably 1986 which was a highly memorable year for me and I'm always happy to relive it .Here's a band who would rather very, very much go back to the old house whenever they can. Despite, or perhaps because of its bad memories.
You can be frustrated with the Reds lack of ambition on occasion. But their level of application and dedication to their craft cannot be doubted. Not exciting in the way that Adult Books paen to a slightly different but essentially similar age of independent guitar spirit from a couple of weeks back was. Uncommon Weather maintains an essentially glum, 17 year old demeanour. Hiding beneath its fringe. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it. It does the job it wants to do with consumate ease.
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