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The Red: Let's Not And Say We Did

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Any good author knows that a book doesn’t go very far without good characters. But it’s not very often that we see this principle applied to music, which is strange considering the plethora of strange souls a musician invariably meets on the road. On The Red’s new release Let’s Not And Say We Did, Marco Aiello and Victor Langhaar introduce us to both the weirdos and the everymen. The result is an album that flips through musical genres like a reader turning pages, and lyrics that push more toward a short story collection than a series of disjointed made-for-radio singles.

The album is kickstarted by perhaps its most instantly accessible song, “Be In LA,” featuring a happy-catchy chours that is impossible to resist but belies the somber nature of the verses. This is the sound of a road weary man, playing one too many shows in the middle of nowhere, akin to Seger’s “Turn The Page.” “I Am A Man” is a harrowing account of sexual assault; if you’re not listening close enough, it sounds like a simple acoustic sad song. But, like a good book, Aiello & Langhaar keep you guessing to the end. You never know when things will take a turn for the sinister.

On the other end of the spectrum, “The New York City Snowflake Song”, which features both a title and an opening guitar riff that recall Simon & Garfunkel, is the kind of longing, seductive poetry Dave Matthews wishes he could muster. It’s a beautiful picture of lovers parted (“All the way here I was thinking about your face”) and the hope of lovers reuniting (“Drink me up and I will melt and die / Become a part of your odd and tempting existence”).

This is an album that deserves your attention. Don’t put it on while you’re cleaning the house and talking on your cell phone. Sit down with your headphones, like you’d sit down with a book. And get ready to hear some interesting musical stories.

To hear songs from Let’s Not And Say We Did (including “Be in LA” and “The New York City Snowflake Song”), visit http://www.thered.com/audvid.html

This album, along with their debut disc Mano, is available from CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com).

The Red will be playing at the LA Indie Music Festival on July 29th at the El Rey Theater. See http://www.thered.com/festival/index.html for more information.

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