Scarlet Grey

Fancy Blood EP

Written by: TL on 23/07/2010 19:06:01

Good evening readers! Before we all go celebrate the weekend, let's have a look at some more music. Today's contenders are Scarlet Grey, a Los Angeles five piece whose new EP "Fancy Blood" was recently delivered to Rockfreaks.net for consideration.

The guys in this band are not ashamed to admit being fans of AFI (which would also be stupid, considering that they toured in support of them all spring), but even if they didn't give up this information voluntarily, you would probably be able to guess it from the sound of their songs anyway. The approach on this EP seems to go something like: "Let's mix up AFI, Alkaline Trio and Bayside, make it poppier, and then take that sound for a ride around to some other minor influences".

Hence opener "No Boys In The Ballroom" sports a doze of punk and "Heee-e-ey!" choruses alá The Offspring, while the title track kicks off with bass and whispered-under-your-breath vocals which recall especially AFI's later material. "Mr. Sinister" delivers more stuff of a similar kind before "Business Colors" brightens up the mood a little, with some happier chords and some backing choirs that sound a bit 80's. 80's becomes keyword for the next song as well, as "Naomi" stands out via its 80's keyboard signature and super poppy chorus. It's almost like Saving Aimee suddenly came by to contribute with the songwriting. If they did however, they were replaced by Angels And Airwaves for the final track "The Sky And I", which also shines in its attempt at anthemic grandeur and in featuring Davey Havok himself in a guest appearance.

Judging from "Fancy Blood EP", the good thing about Scarlet Grey seems to be that they manage to craft their influences into songs that will certainly be easy to become aquainted with for the live audience (which is always important for a support band), and that they're at a point where their skills and their production is good enough to set them apart from the vast selection of more amateur sounding upstarts. However, if they aim to establish a following of their own some day, I think it's fair to demand that it should be possible to identify them as a bit more than "the poppier AFI". The inclusion of epic and 80's elements on the two latter tracks might hold the key to that, as those certainly are the most memorable songs in my opinion, but how Scarlet Grey choose to tackle the issue, only time can tell.

7

Download: Naomi, The Sky And I
For The Fans Of: Alkaline Trio, AFI, Bayside
Listen: myspace.com/scarletgrey

Release Date 01.06.2010
**Self-released**

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