The Reds - Stronger Silence
#650
1981 Housekeeping
The Reds
Stronger Silence
Genre: Too Early for what they really are
4 out of 5
Highlights:
Try It On You
It’s Not the Same Thing
I Don’t Know
There’s a sound of the mid-80s that is difficult to describe but when you hear it you recognize it. It’s big, there’s definitely keyboards but they aren’t the focus or the driving idiom. It moves and is melodic and in a few years it’s going to be all over KROQ. But in 1981 almost no one knows it or does it.
This is that sound.
It’s not fully formed and I’m not even sure they knew what they were doing. The lead singer definitely still wants to be a punk but whoever is the arranger has other ideas. It’s a wider palette than was prevalent in the era. This is like discovering New Model Army for the first time.
Musically this thing outshines the paucity of interesting lyrics or a dynamic frontman but I couldn’t stop adding songs my 80s playlist, so…
The guitars are way ahead of what I am expecting from 1981, laser focused and blistering. Too bad the vocalist is so wrong for them.
Anyone know these guys?
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