Red Fred – 2

Of the three halloween-theme releases this year (concurrently from De Blimp and 33soteric), 2 is easily the most notable, thanks to its impressive sound design, range and style. Their latest album is like Clipping without the rap, with a fantastic fusion of Royal-Trux’s dissonant style and the Pop Group’s funk-rock fusion. Released on Halloween (October 21st) 2021, the album is a spooky as it is entertaining.

Pumpkinhead opens the album with a clear vision; its progression is standard, yet its sound design is distinct and memorable. Witches Curse interplay the two voalists to a powerful effect. Hell Spawn from Beyond is perhaps the greatest example of the band’s fantastic vocal range; while the vocals themselves are not pitch-perfect, they’re entirely fitting and expressive.Flesh Vision contains some neat ideas, and an impressive progression, though is rather baron and over-reliant on Videodrome for its theme. Sample use can often feel overdone throughout 2; while mostly fitting, can feel over-relied on, such as Alex Jones on Satan is Real. These tracks are humerous, though are filler-core outside their notable moments. Continuing down the track listing is Cannibal City; a striking, long suite. While impressive, its sound design is not as deep as previous Red Fred’s catalogue. This is not exclusive to the song, though apparent throughout the rest of the album; gone are the distorted frequencies and psychedelic influences; what remains is rather baron. The most impressive aspect is once again the vocal delivery, both delirious and fitting to the nightmarish aesthetic. The closer, Speak Squeak Creak, comes close to replicating the soundscape highs of their previous efforts, though its composition is rather aimless. Nonetheless, had more of the album been as dense and beautifully layered as the closer, it would have come at a high recommendation. In contrast, it almost feels like the album was rushed for Halloween instead of properly developed for the following year.Lastly, tracks such as Taxidermist, wolfman and here comes the witch are very filler-like. Not that these are necessary bad tracks, but their ideas are far too similar to other tracks which execute them better.

2 is a solid sophomore album for Red Fred, though it’s not as strong in some compartments. While the vocals are consistently strong, many verses are delivered in the same manner, making them less impactful by the end of the album. On the positive side, there’s a noticeable increase in production quality, though it doesn’t sound as fresh or innovative as Hippie Jam Band.

Good

Listen to it here:

https://redfred.bandcamp.com/album/2

Red Fred – 2