Review Summary: Overall, fans of Punk, Ska, and Reggae will all find something they like here. I reccomend picking up this album to almost everyone since it gives you a variety of different sounds and genres.
ILL SCARLETT - ALL DAY WITH IT
Ill Scarlett Lineup:
Alex Norman - Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar
Will Marr - Lead guitar
Swavek Piorkowski - Drums
Johnny Doherty - Bass guitar, backing vocals
Ill Scarlett is a mix of ska punk, reggae, and dub music.
Well, now that i'm on break, i have time to write a review.
I picked up this album yesterday and I just put it in the computer today, IMO its pretty easy to get into the songs for the most part, but here is a track by track of my thoughts on each of the songs:
Who's Got it:
This song starts with a soft, acoustic intro, then the turntables come in and the song starts to get going. Alex's vocals here are pretty good, and then it gets to the pre-chorus with effective drumming, The chorus has a few weak parts, but it is solid to be apart of the song. Overall, this song makes good use of turntables and is pretty energetic, not the best song on the album, but its a solid opening track nonetheless.
3/5
Nothing Special:
This song starts with a quiet guitar playing ska-like chords, and then Alex comes in with his vocals, and then he shouts "BELIEVE" and its slightly offkey, but thats not a big deal. A wailing lead guitar from Will comes in, its not anything crazy, but it makes the song pretty kickass. The Chorus is also extremely energetic. All the instruments work together to make the song really fast and lively, if that makes sense. I can here some pretty solid-good bass lines from John in this song, but like most bassists on albums, he isnt really heard much. His backing vocals are pretty good other than the parts where he tries to shout. The Chorus and the wailing leads are the driving force of this song.
4.5/5
Clearer Now:
This song starts off with some pretty cool guitars, this another fast and lively song. The lead vocals get on my nerves slightly at points, i honestly don't know why, but this song is a solid track nonetheless. The guitars flow together really well in this song, and are IMO the high point here.
3.5/5
Life Of A Solider:
This song has a pretty cool intro. but at the verse it starts to get on my nerves and it seems like they are trying to hard to be like sublime IMO. The lyrics and vocals are pretty cool, and i think the chorus is better then the verse even though they are both nothing special, and the harmonized guitar part is pretty good. This song is okay, but i'm suprised it was a single, because i personally believe this is the low point of the album. It's nice to have a soft song though. Woah Album Fade.
2.5/5
Pacino:
This song has a nice slow intro like "Who's Got It?" except this one has vocals in the intro, which makes sure this song is distinguished as different and doesn't fall under the curse of recylcled song styles. I really like Alex's vocal style here. The chorus is also pretty nice and relaxing, The song also has pretty, soft, leads sprinkled in it. I think this is one of the standout tracks on the album.
5/5
NTF:
This song has another acoustic intro, that seems to blend in with the other two intros "Who's Got it" and "Pacino". This song starts off with a really weird style that isn't really Ill Scarlett-like. The Violins used in the song are pretty cool. I could imagine the guitar being a bit more interesting instead of the usual ska chords here. Overall It seems like they tried to expirament, and they made a pretty good song in the end.
3.5/5
The Fashion (Do Or Die):
This song has an okay intro, and then another good guitar lead coming in. The vocals in this song try a bit hard to be aggressive, and it seems kind of an awkward vocal style. The chorus is alright. This song is kind of similar to other songs. It's kind of a filler track, but solid enough.
2.5/5
Wake Up:
I really like the opening riff. This gets into the song, its at a pretty mid-paced and its a good, catchy, general rock song. It's not the craziest song ever, but it compliments the album nicely, and it stands out from the other songs. One of the negetive points here is the occaisional aggressive, or "shouting" vocals, it just doesn't seem like Alex's style. The vocals aren't like that all the time here, so it isn't much of a big deal. Overall, this song is pretty good but i honestly think they should have built on the idea more.
3/5
Paradise Burning:
The opening is pretty cool and unique, and has another soft-ish intro. Alex's vocals talent really shows in this song, and this is probably the best slow song on the album. It is nice and calm and has a "California" style to it? This song is a pretty good chillaxing song in a way. Overall, this is one of the best tracks.
4/5
Danse Macabre:
This song was hard to review, it's starts with a kind've weak guitar, but then some cool effects are added along with some vocal samples. Like "NTF", it has a pretty strange intro unlike most of the other Ill Scarlett. Negative points are that after the intro, it sounds a bit too much like Paradise burning at many points, but it manages to make itself unique by sprinkling vocal samples around. But still, there are the usual "Ska-chords", and this song is kind of bland, I honestly think this song should have been put elsewhere and have a better song end off the album.
(No one really cares, but this song kind of reminds me of that awful boys night out song: "Dying" at some points)
2/5
Conclusion:
Overall, fans of Punk, Ska, and Reggae will all find something they like here. I reccomend picking up this album to almost everyone since it gives you a variety of different sounds and genres. On a side note, i have a feeling that the next album will either be legendary or be a real dud. I would have given this album a higher ranking if it lost some of it's weaker tracks like "Danse Macabre" and "Life of a Solider".
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 (Great)
Standout Tracks:
Nothing Special
Pacino
NTF
Paradise Burning
