Red

Commercially viable, radio-friendly, aggressive rock bands are a dime a dozen these days. So many bands are trying to break through but few have any measurable degree of success. Nashville's Red wisely avoid being just another retread entry in the incredibly populous hard rock, post-grunge sweepstakes by allowing its music to sweep with grand gestures and have an almost orchestral feel. Red, who've already notched a Grammy nomination in their career, which came in 2006 for "Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album," is like Evanescence, minus the gothy, female singer! Nevertheless, there are lots of lush musical layers to unravel on Innocence & Instinct, which keeps the record infinitely interesting while raising more than a few eyebrows, in the good way, of course.

Innocence & Instinct certainly adheres to the agitated, vivid connotations inherent in the band’s colorful name, thanks to the slicing riffs that drive songs like "Fight Inside" and "Death of Me." But Red is smarter than your average rock band, thanks to the band's artfully deft use of the piano to fatten and fortify the band's songs with melodies that are best described as epic and broad.

While Red cops to being a Christian band, don't let that scare you off. The lyrics are hardly a vehicle for any sort of ministry and vocalist Mike Barnes doesn't hop on the soapbox and spew endlessly about his faith. He keeps things simple to relate to and refuses to assault the listener with spiritual or religious references. He's got a soulful voice with an impressive range –he can scream and exercises control over his croony style- which relays more than a fair share of pent up emotion. The acoustic "Never Be the Same" lives among more adrenalized fare like "Confessions (What’s Inside My Head)" and "Shadows," both of which utilize hooky, chunky and thoroughly aggro guitars that are tempered by those epic, movie score-like melodies we spoke of earlier! There's also a moody cover of the late-era Duran Duran hit, "Ordinary World." Kudos to the band for thinking outside of the "Hungry Like the Wolf" or "The Reflex" box and covering something unexpected.

If you're sick of waiting for the next Chevelle record, then do yourself a favor and check out Red's Innocence & Instinct.

— Amy Sciarretto
01.23.09