Saturday 18 May 2013

Red Jester - Red Jester (CD Review)


01.Nasty
02.She Devil
03.Dirty Lovin
04.Best Thing
05.Sweat Box
06.Punching Bag
07.By Your Side
08.Just Emotions
09.Riding The Night
10.Problem Child
11.The Rain

Jim Parkin (Vocals)
Dan Faulkner (Guitar)
Darren Dodds (Bass)
Matt Paton (Drums)

Guest:
Jill Beckett (Backing Vocals)
Kate Parkin (Backing Vocals)


Hailing from the Midlands the four piece rock band first came together in 2010 and started to play music drawing on various influences from Classic Rock, Punk, Heavy Metal and even Britpop.

In February 2011 they released a six track demo which gained an 8/10 review on this very site!

Having spent a lot of time on the road and then heading to the studio they have now released their first album.



Kicking off with the bouncy groove-laden 'Nasty' with its punchy chorus and what sounds like a sample from an "Adult Movie" (Usually the drummer's private collection).

'She Devil' keeps the groove going with a Rob Zombie vibe, the songs structure has similarites to 'Welcome To The Jungle'.

Anthemic stop/start riff meets sleaze rock on 'Dirty Lovin' a song to make you smile;
"Going down pink or brown" now thats a lyric even King Lizard's Flash Roxx wouldnt write!!!! Oh wait are they playing snooker???

Sounding like a mid seventies pop rock song (Bay City Rollers meets The Sweet??) the heart felt 'Best Thing' has "Radio Play" written all over it.Some great guitar work and strong vocal delivery with nice backing vocals make this one pleasant on the ear.

Moody and sleazy sums up 'Sweat Box', song also showcases each band member with little bass and drum solo's thrown in with the guitar solo.

'Punching Bag' still has that Motorhead 'No Class' riff running through it, hell even that solo sounds like one of Eddie's, great track!

Time for the epic rock ballad with 'By Your Side' delivers exactly what i expected starts slow with nice acoustic and electric guitar and an emotive vocal, then as it goes along it builds up with some fine female backing vocals and a sweeping guitar solo!

Think of Oasis but more upbeat and with a decent vocalist duetting with a girl then that is what you get with 'Just Emotions'.

There is an old NWOBHM riff lurking within 'Riding The Night' but this is a much more up to date sounding song and again the female backing add's depth.

'Problem Child' returns to that sleaze rock sound and manages to name check Nikki Sixx, throw in a sample saying "we dont want to scare anybody" and police sirens.

Rain f/X and nice acoustic guitar introduce the albums final track 'The Rain' which starts slow then after a vocal breakdown kicks into a full on anthemic rocker.
This one has all the hallmarks of Alice In Chains, its an epic and quite stunning finale.

Wihtout any doubts at all i can say this is a fantastic album, full of hooks and riffs, blended with style and melody, it has the feel of a sleaze rock album at times, then a classic rock one.
The music does not match the bands image (much in the same way Akercocke in suits didnt match their Black Metal sound), its a style and sound that keeps you on your toes, never quite knowing what's coming next.

Not sure how the band will proceed from this point, i would suggest some promotional music videos for 'Best Thing' and 'The Rain' and aim for some radio play.

A band to look out for and see live!

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Wildside Riot, Mercy House, King Lizard, Voodoo Johnson

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