Red - Until We Have Faces

The hard rock/radio rock genre is a tough one for me. 75% of the genre is just some form of rehashed Pearl Jam songs and it’s terrible. And this is where I put Red. A band that was fine for the style of music they played but nothing I was into.

So I expected to like a song or two on Red’s latest, Until We Have Faces, but overall I figured I wouldn’t like this record. And while Red isn’t a very technical band or aren’t the heaviest act to ever grace the scene, they do what’s important. They write killer rock songs.

Until We Have Faces works because it’s an enjoyable listen and the songs are all good. 12 songs and each one is just as good as the last. There’s no filler.

The album kicks off with Feed the Machine, which has an almost standard nu-metal guitar riff, but it gets your head bobbing. The albums first single, Faceless (which the band absolutely murdered when they rocked it on Conan), is another catchy, hard-hitting rock song. Let It Burn, Not Alone, and Best Is Yet to Come are all killer ballads. The title track, Until We Have Faces, has a needlessly long intro and the song itself is on the short side but the track is a nice heavy outro to a killer record.

Whether it’s a balls to the wall rock song or a low key ballad, Until We Have Faces delivers on every level. It’s the first surprise record of the year. Red has created a start to finish great album. I highly recommend giving this one a spin.