My first listen of Red Lanterns “Names” was totally blind. I know nothing of this band and the internet didn’t yield much information. From their myspace page, I did learn that they were from the Boston area. I would have picked that up anyway since they referenced Boston three times before the first four tracks were finished, however. I saw a picture. It appears three people are in the band. Seriously, that’s how little I have to go on here.
Already, upon my first listen, there are some bright spots. The lyric “Just fucking hit me” on the song ‘Johnny Gosh’ is brilliant and perfectly delivered. On Dear Dead Stars, there’s an edgy part that I had been waiting six songs to hear just to shake up the monotony. The line, “All I drink is gasoline, all you loved is dead in me” could have been my entire biography contained in one song lyric. It’s a great line. On a couple of the songs, vocal harmonies are used to great effect and it’s a nice diversion to what is mostly an album of a guy singing alone
My overall impression of “Names” is that it is an album of angst. Upon further listens, I hope to discover what all this angst is about, as I would consider myself an angst connoisseur. As for right now, it was a bit of a hike to get through it. I do think there’s something here worth exploring further. Parts of it are inspired, but mostly listening to all 12 tracks in a row was like swallowing a pill. I’ll down some beer, make someone drive me around and see if a change in location and my Toyota’s stereo system will change my mind.
Editors Note: The album is free (or best offer) here.
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