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Editorial Review:
It can be difficult to know how to condition yourself as a Guillemots fan. First there was Through the Windowpane, a great English pop record full of classy melodrama and widescreen elation, then there were the wilfully eccentric live shows, known to descend into mind-boggling bouts of freeform jazz bombast. And now there is Red, yet another altogether different dragon. You can talk about forcing a square where a circle should be, but this is more like teasing a dodecahedron through a drinking straw. And yet with slick feline agility they somehow wriggle through with little resistance. To get a measure of the differences, penultimate track "Don't Look Down" is one of a few that holds a torch for the first record, leading in with the keyboard twinkles and filmic slow pace, but implodes midway like a fully-laden milk float combusting, and comes out the other side like the Annie cast on helium set to a drum 'n' bass beat. Amazingly, it's as palatable as ever. But that's just for starters. "Kriss Kross" is the hitherto undiscovered melding point between 2Unlimited (of brief 90s techno infamy) and The New Radicals' chiming pop, "Big Dog" is bright lights arena R&B, robotic seduction with a Jacko scream at its heart, "Get over It" is glittery, steroid pumped modern glam and "Last Kiss" is Tubular Bells with distorted bass funnelled into a rave anthem. The whole album's a curveball, but the quality of the songs is undimming and maybe we just got a little closer to discovering what Guillemots quintessentially are. Or maybe not. --James Berry
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
I just hate copy protect CDs The other reviews on here concentrate on the music. Opinion is divided on whether this is a great record or a bit of a mess. My view it has some great moments but is at times a bit self indulgent. But then I loved the debut CD so it had a lot to live up to. My main point is of a more technical nature. I believe that if I buy a CD I should be able to copy it to my mp3 player. I quite like to do a CD-R for the car as well - so the original doesn't end up scratched. Now clearly the 'music industry' would... more info
Gets better with every listen Gorgeous rich sound - very similar to the accoustics when I went to see the band play live at the Southampton Guildhall - that may be due to the location where the album was recorded. Unpredictable melodies and key changes make this a wonderfully challenging listen and something of an emotional rollercoaster. So grown-up that poppy hits like "Get Over It" seem almost too simplistic and commercial. Awesome musicianship and highly versatile vocals. Definitely my album of the year! If you like this, check out... more info
A reason of dissapoint A simply poor albúm. I buy this and regreat. I send It to the trash.
Unique What do you get, if you put together a bunch of well educated and driven musicians - among others an extremely gifted singer/songwriter who happens to be slightly mad? You get - ta-dah - Guillemots! This is most certainly not easy listening, although there are actually songs on this album with hit potential. This is quick shifts, unexpected turns, wonderful surprises and grand, almost epic arrangements. This is pop-rock-jazz-musical-funk-folk-ethnic - with a twist! So you really have to keep an open... more info
