Show Your Colours
Welsh rockers Scarlet Rebels release their debut album ‘Show Your Colours’ and what a fantastic album it is. Almost too good and musically too tight to be a debut album, then I discovered that actually the band is formed from the foundations of rock band V0id, made up of singer and songwriter, Wayne Doyle, his brother Gary Doyle on the drums, bassist Wayne ‘Pricey’ Esmonde. Added to the mix is lead guitarist Chris Jones and Josh Townshend on second guitar and Keyboard duties. This five-piece really have produced something special!
The first track ‘No One Else to Blame’ really hits you. Starting with a blistering guitar intro from Chris, the drums are being absolutely hammered and with a real anthemic chorus, plus a nice guitar solo, this is a taste of things to come.
The album really is a high energy offering, the second track ‘You Take My Breath Away’ is a head nodding, foot stamping, guitar chugging offering, complete with a stunning chorus and another amazing guitar solo.
I particularly enjoyed ‘Head’s in the Ground’. The track opens with a call and response talk box and guitar riff. It has the opening line ‘We’re all passengers on this lonely ride’ its a damning look at the state of things in 2019. I think it’s my favourite song of the album, it’s angry and punchy and Wayne almost shouting the chorus just adds to the angst.
The album continues, another highlight for me is the song ‘Heal’. A song of two halves, it begins very soft and low key. It really draws you in, before blasting you with a passionate chorus. Wayne certainly has a way of getting the listener involved in his lyrics; that is certainly a skill. Similar to ‘Heal’, ‘Blinded by the Pain’ is another slow build up. The longest song on the album, it surely will become a prime contender for inclusion in a live set. It is such a crescendo, and the end result is well and truly worth the wait!
What Scarlet Rebels have managed to do here is create a truly brilliant album that doesn’t have any bad bits. Every track could be a single; every song could be a hit. As reviewers, we are required to criticise, but there simply isn’t anything bad to say about this album. They have managed to create something that some far more successful bands that have been around for years have not achieved, a perfect offering. This is a band I simply have to see live and I look forward to seeing what else they have up their sleave!
Released on ROAR!
Release Date: 9th August 2019
