Review Summary: Red's new album Until We Have Faces is familiar without being to similar
Red is now on their third album. Most bands have a sophomore slump, where the second album lacks the musical prowess of the first album. Red's second album Innocence & Instinct did not lack much in terms of music in my opinion. It did not have the mainstream connection as the first album did but it did have some great songs.
So what would Red do on this third album? Well, it seems Red maybe trying to garner more mainstream attention like their first album End of Silence did. In some ways I don't mind being more mainstream as long as the artist is still trying to progress their sound and refine it. I think Until We Have Faces does a really good job of maintaining the Red sound, but with some new progression and new sounds. Some may argue this album could have progressed even further. But there are limits to how far you want to push as an artist without losing your fan base as well. U2 has made this mistake on some of their albums: Pop and No Line on the Horizon went to far and lost some fans in the process.
The first song Red comes out with is something different. "Feed The Machine" is a nice opener to begin this album. The drums are more prominent in this song. I like the low growls and the lyrics are pretty cool. "We fall in line , We live the lie, Give up, give up and feed the machine" which speaks of us just following the crowd. And at the end it calls us to be different and kill the machine. I also like the ending with just strings and choir. It's a different sound with the choir added in.
"Faceless" is the first single for the band. I can see why this was chosen as the first single. It has broad appeal with it being a song that sounds most like Red. This song is somewhat similar to other Red songs. But it does have enough to be different. The lyrics are pretty cool basing them on a book by C.S. Lewis called 'Till We Have Faces. "A part of me is dead, Need you to live again, Can you replace this, I'm hollow, hollow and faceless." The theme of the novel is finding your true identity just like this song and the theme of this album.
"Lie to Me(Denial)" and "Let it Burn" are both different sounds for the band. Both start off with some interesting string movements. Lie to Me is a hard rock song with some nice hooks and riffs. While "Let it Burn" is the first power ballad. I think both are executed well. And the "Let it Burn" has a nice addition of female background vocals provided by Kerrie Roberts as well as more choir elements. I like this new element that they have added.
"Watch Me Crawl" starts off with a really nice driving rhythm line. As the song progresses the drums become a focal point. This is where Joe Rickard really gets to show off his skills. I like how the chorus is sung and I like the words. “You tried to bring me to my knees, You tried to take it all, Now I will stand and watch you crawl.” This is something that does not sound like the Red we know and works really well.
"Who We Are" is a great song with lots of new elements. It has a nice drum and guitar intro. The song can stick in your head after awhile, but not in an annoying Lady Gaga way. I like the chorus: "We can be who we are now we are alive, We can fight, they cannot contain us, It's who we are, we are not dying." The guitar and drums pick up again the intro part after a really cool break down part. It’s a different sound for Red and works well.
I also like "Hymn for the Missing" which is similar to the song “Pieces” from the First Album. This closer works to round out the album in a satisfying and epic way. The song is done with just piano, strings, and lyrics. Michael Barnes sounds best in these type of songs. I also like the end to this song with just the choir, strings, and Kerrie Roberts vocal addition at the end.
There are some songs that are good but not great like "Buried Beneath" and "The Best is Yet to Come". And I think "The Outside" lacks a musical punch that could have made it a good song. It seems to be just filler material. It might work okay in concert, but on CD it just lacks the rock out vibe that it was trying to achieve. “Not Alone” is a song I can listen to, but sounds like a song that could be on a Kutless worship album. Its something that will probably make it on a Christian radio station, but its also almost a song to get an audience that Red really does not cater to.
This album will stand well with the other albums. And I think it is a excellent effort put forth by the group. A few changes to a few songs could have made this album even better. But there are very few albums that do not have a weak spot. I do have a major gripe. I like the Red idea being carried out on the CD, the cover, and back. But why did they have to put Red lyrics on a Red background. It’s hard to read even in sunlight. And at night in the car is impossible
