Are you looking for some easily accessible, yet sophisticated, alternative rock which is up-to-date in sound but captures the greatness of the alternative scene of the 90s? Well, then look no further, because that is exactly what Redrock deliver on this EP.
The EP opens out with the ferocious hard rock 'Skunk', which features some aggressive guitar work in the verses and choruses - some of which has an almost sludge-punky quality to it – while parts of the bridge are heavier and seems to display inklings of noise rock experimentation in the form of sampled speech and overlaid guitars. The following track, 'Cosmic Dream' which is mellow and has an almost electronica-like feel to it due to the use of synths and samples combined with a soft but dynamic drum pattern and a slight shoegaze touch. Soft and melancholic, this is a very pleasant track to listen to. 'Self-destroyed' is darker affair based primarily around a solid bass ostinato and some solid drumming and vocal melodies, while the guitars contributed – in a post-rock fashion – at a more ambient level; there are some interesting noise-based guitar solos on this track, and I like how some heavy and groovy alternative metal riffage kicks in and takes the track to a very different level for the last two minutes of the track. 'Made of Sand' is another mellow track, and even features a central odd metered drive, and thus stands in a nice contrast with the heavy ending of the previous track and the more uplifting feel of the uptempo intro of the 'Backdoors', which also strikes me as being the most progressive track on the EP, neatly combining alternative rock simplicity with the use of complex song structures from progressive rock (clocking in at 7:23 minutes, there is room for a lot of parts and passages in the mellow but dark bridge of this song, which I quite like).
Overall, the music on this EP come across as being a bit introspective, but that suits the overall feel of the music, and this introspective shoegazing touch actually also is an important generator of expression, so I actually consider it one of the strengths of the EP. Another strengths is the overall dynamics of the EP in terms of the way that the songs are ordered in terms of mellowness, aggression, heaviness, fragility and so on. Although very different musically, the Redrock EP captures much of the same feel as Danish alternative pop-rockers Mew did on their three most recent releases, so Mew fans might actually find the EP appealing in that respect. The musicianship is impeccable and I like the expressive, sometimes almost fragile sounding vocals, which fit the overall melancholic feel of the album quite well.
This EP is definitely a fine work of alternative rock and, while fairly conventional in terms of son structure and the like, I think their eclectic style and generally sophisticated music will appeal to fans of modern progressive rock, alternative rock and post-rock.
Track listing:
1. Skunk
2. Cosmic Dream
3. Self-Destroyed Man
4. Made of Sand
5. Backdoors
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