Red Martian from Seattle, Washington as their name may suggest, are trying to be out of the ordinary, and their neue shoegazer genre certainly achieves this..if you haven't yet had the pleasure of hearing this band, you are in for a real surprise, in what is arguable their best material yet..
To open we have the title track, 'Slow Motion Samurai' which has an hopeful instrumental sound, before taking a downbeat approach with sombre vocals and bouncy airy riffs, making an interesting and intriguing contrast which works well, and more importantly showcases their unique style immediately..
'Emeraldas' shakes things up more-so, by taking a big leap from the opener, with memorable and discombobulating guitars, this one is laced with a raw punk sound and enthralling unusual demanding vocals.
The strangely titled, 秘密の旋律 (I have no idea what this means!) has a dream like vibe with great drony grunge like guitars and distant vocals, creating a huge atmosphere, like no other so far. Something they are masters at!...
'April' has stand out effects that suit the spaced out, almost desolate style, which reflects the lyrically context cleverly. This is one of favourites, and has a brilliant long lasting outro which hits hard.
The slightly comically titled, 'Donkey Back Ride' is different to what we have seen so far, being more stripped back with acoustics and piano, and although hard to take seriously, it is rather serene and surreal at once, taking you on a weird journey or 'ride' that easily washes over you with memorable melodies and rhythms.
'Away' dramatically changes and cranks things up again! With heavy distorted, technical resonant guitars, driving this punk rock infused number, with melodic vocals to match the fast pace. This is them at their best, and is a nice medium between past and present sounds.
'Petty Happiness' opens on a great bass line, which highlights its importance and pleasing electronic sounds, diving into the more pop inspired sounds. All this gives it an interesting vibe that is variable and only further demonstrates their quirky experimental sounds.
The commonly (*ahem*!) titled, めがね has a crushing intro and effective clanging far out sound which is very resonant and ambient, and brings us onto, 'The Empty Sound', which is a great chill out reflective song, with pleasing vocals and impressive production, which aids their already highly effervescent sounds, as seen throughout this album.
'On You' is potentially their most mainstream fuzzy offering, which shows their solid craftsmanship yet again. Back to the unconventional offerings, we have えいごであそぼう, which maintains their signature sounds, with strong melodies and breezy unique vocals.
The longest track 'Air' is a must hear, with a free laid back sound. This one will float over you easily, especially with cool guitar feedback effects, strong creative bass, and acoustics to give more depth and diversity. Although sounds free spirited, it has interesting breakdowns that unsettle you in the greatest sense.
So we come to the final 'swing' and feel the full impact of the 'Samurai' and get to appreciate it's craft for one last time with, 'Greying', which as you may expect, incorporates all the best elements of their sound to end on a triumphant alt rock note, which shows a more emotive side.
Red Martian are an intelligible impressive unit, and manage to create diverse moods, sounds and atmospheres, all the while remaining cohesive as an album that flows superbly. There is something for everyone to like here, and nothing to dislike, however some songs may require you are in the right frame of mind to wholly revere, as some you need to delve deeper beyond the surface to unleash the true genius and craftsmanship, but this is another part of their charm - once you let their music drift over you in an dream like state, there is no going back. Take the plunge into Red Martian's creative world - you won't regret it!
https://redmartian.bandcamp.com/album/slow-motion-samurai
http://redmartian.com/
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