I found Scarlet INside a little over two years ago and was instantly drawn to the singularity of the sound. There are bands that dabble in this section of the prog garden, but Scarlet INside found a corner and nurtured it in a way that would make Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart proud. Scarlet INside recently released another absolute gem, "The Room of MUndane THings." This is a review I have been waiting to write since the last Scarlet INside album, so no time to waste...The title cut opens with a bass line that immediately draws you in and holds you captive, much like a cobra rising slowly as the charmer's pungi hypnotizes ever so deliberately. There are hints of Peter Gabriel lurking beneath the surface, entwined with subtle aromatics of Focus oddly enough...
Kevin has a way of bopping you over the head without ever making a physical move; his lyric style and composition are such that you feel changed after listening to his music. Nothing bad or
bizarre--but your eyes have been opened and music will never taste the same again...
Moving across the album randomly, a method I believe best serves music that takes to a label the way a cat takes to a bath, I drop the stylus on "DEad PEople's THings for SAle." This piece immediately takes me to ELP's "Peter Gunn" for some reason...and I am honestly not sure why. Scarlet INside builds tension masterfully here, much the way Alfred Hitchcock did in his movies. Kevin's vocals haunt as they sit on top, riding the high hat like a warning flash at a nuclear power plant. But the best part of this song is Kevin's ability to take anything in the room and evoke exemplary sound from it. He is to music what Robin Williams is to comedy; you don't dare move lest you miss out...Liner Notes are short, sweet, and probably familiar; Scarlet INside is Kevin Kennie and vice versa. This one man prog event hails from Glasgow UK. He does have human assistance when performing live, but the recordings are mostly all Kevin. Brian Johnstone is credited on the album for rearranging, keyboards, and backing on the song "POison Signals." Otherwise Kevin wears many hats to go with his many thoughts and ideas...
The prog garden needs Scarlet INside and more bands like this. I remember the amazement when I heard my first Frank Zappa album--nobody was doing anything close to that. While it may be impossible to make that statement today absolutely in regard to Scarlet INside, at best Kevin could hold a musical peer convention in the back seat of a Honda Pilot and have plenty of leg room...
Next up as we fall deeper into the abyss that is this Room of MUndane THings, I discover an especially poignant track--at least by Scarlet INside standards-- called "Sally Learns." On this piece Kevin seems to project his inner King Crimson; he is Jamie Muir-like in his ability to bring forth music from inanimate objects and he is Robert Fripp-like with that guitar. The vocals are a John Wetton/Adrian Belew concoction that can only be explained once heard...and man, is this song amazing!While there is the ever-present dark cloud hanging over the piece, the sounds emanating from a child's toys accompanied by the innocent laughter is as soothing as it is unsettling. Kevin is quite the lyricist too; "Create the sound from silence/The harmony of the worlds/The perfection of a semitone/When it vibrates (right) down into the bone." All the while the background is filled with sounds designed to awe, frighten, amaze, and dare I say inspire.
Go behind the curtain that shrouds Scarlet INside at Scarlet INside. There is of course Facebook
Scarlet INside FB and Twitter @ScarletINside where you will kept well informed about all things Scarlet INside. Naturally you will want to purchase "The Room of MUndane THings" and other albums in the Scarlet INside library...they can all be found at Scarlet INside bandcamp and
Scarlet INside soundcloud. It has been a while since I stood on a soapbox, but please support the artists by purchasing their music!
This is where I would normally post a track from the album to entice you to listen deeper and make a purchase. However, this week is a bit different...no song from the album posted here, but I do have a live clip that will give you a bit of a glimpse inside the mind that is inside the head that sits atop the man behind the curtain...Scarlet INside is the type of band I would have started when I was younger--if I had even a smidgen of the talent Kevin has--not to mention the guts, desire, and drive required.
Once again the sand has run through the hourglass and seven more days have fallen off the calendar. Scarlet INside proves unequivocally that progressive rock is more than just a genre--it is an ever changing mood, a thought, an idea--a garden filled with more mystery and imagination than one can hope to fully capture in this lifetime.
The search for all things prog has allowed me to hear music and interact with artists I might never have discovered otherwise. The prog garden is my sanctuary and The Closet Concert Arena my TARDIS if you will. There are many styles, forms, and sounds to the world of music, but prog to me is the fountain from which it all flows. Scarlet INside is a dark crystal burning bright in the prog garden and I hope you are warmed by the glow as you immerse yourself in all that is found inside its gates. The journey continues...until next time...
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