Buzz about The Red Orkestra:
MARCH 2007
LIFE WITH THE MACHINES
4/5
Life with Machines, the newest from Red Orkestra, fronted by Waterloo's Johnny Charmer, is a veritable study in consistency. From the opening strains to the last notes, Life With Machines offers up a steady stream of pleasing pop crafted with mellow yet highly engaging arrangements, subtly clever lyrics and a distinctly British sound recalling classic Smiths tunes.
Frontman Charmer's distinctive vocals give just the right amount of edge to lyrics that might otherwise descend into melodrama, yet still manages to distinguish the overall tone of each, so that the album swings effortlessly from quirky and ironic to solemn and profound.
Although the entire album is consistent, the quality improves ever so slightly in the middle, where Red Orkestra seem to really hit their stride on tracks like "It's Impossible", "Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and "Ten Thousand Miles", showcasing a more upbeat tempo that really lets the listener have a little fun.
Red Orkestra succeeds in standing out among the masses of indie musicians by, frankly, not trying so hard. If a renaissance in Canadian music is on the way, look for Red Orkestra to be at the forefront with their refreshingly clean and simple sound.
by Moya Dillon
FEBRUARY 2007
LIFE WITH THE MACHINES
The Fading Ways label's radar for good music is rivalled by very few. So consistently do they find and release superb bands that I have begun to give serious consideration to the theory that Elvis, Jeff Buckley, Nick Drake, and several other rockers lost too soon are actually locked in the Fading Ways basement, being cajoled into breeding this new race of superbands. Red Orkestra, the Fading Ways signing in question here, sound roughly like a cross-breeding of Nick Cave, Morrissey, and Billy Bragg. Describing themselves as "urban folk" the Canadian ensemble characterise their second record by juxtaposing lyrical imagery of Radio Towers, bleak highways and towns on fire (ideas picked up in the grey, industrial-looking album artwork) with softer sounds from a bygone time. Folky and minimalist singer/songwriter tracks merge into rich, and appropriately orchestral, strings. The result is a multi-faceted record, which sways from grand peaks like the epic, fable-esque ‘Devil and the Deep Blue Sea' to understated indie tracks laced with echoes of Lou Reed, such as ‘All my Life'. Gracefully knitting together this collection of mood swings are the versatile voice, and lyrics of Johnny Charmer. Across Life with the Machines' 11 tracks Charmer gradually develops his poetry of seemingly insignificant urban detail, contrasting with more overarching and ironically universal ideas of alienation to create an album which will surely touch all those who open their hearts to it.
FEBRUARY 2007
LIFE WITH THE MACHINES
STAR RATING: 4
Red Orkestra is one of those bands that that just seemed to be born out of karma; a group of musicians who seemed to have been brought together through destiny to make music. The band follows up their debut called After the Wars with this new album, which will surely take them further along the path to musical self-reliance. The CD starts off smooth with the soothing vocals of Johnny Charmer easily carrying you into the ambient acoustics of the record. The band cranks the amps for "One By One", but they let you get into it like a warm bath; a classic Oasis like manoeuvre as Orkestra plays between hard and soft throughout the track. They take things a bit up-tempo for "Radio Towers" and keep up that pace for much of the album. Sometimes Charmer and the guys try to deke and slip one by you, like giving "Ten Thousand Miles" a bass chord that has shades of U2, but is uniquely constructed into the band's urban folk pop sound. Sometimes outgoing, other times introspective, Life With the Machines displays a band comfortable with there style, but with a willingness to add odd spices and flavours to their recipe in order to give their music an unexpected kick or a moment to savour.
JANUARY 2007
LIFE WITH THE MACHINES
Red Orkestra's music is the kind that you could listen to anywhere at any time and seems to always blend in with the background perfectly. It does not give you a kick in the face with hardcore screams or feed artificial sweetener down your throat with boyish vocals. The best way to describe the sound on Life with the Machines is, perhaps, rock n roll fused with orchestra. The album starts catchy with "World Turned Upside Down" and "One by One," and then mesmerizes listeners with refreshingly original guitar solos on "Radio Towers". Acoustic rockabilly, bluesy guitars and a steady drums set the tranquil tone on Life with the Machines. However, as the record takes a turn for the slower, with "Devil and the Deep Blue Sea," some momentum is lost. Although the tracks are just as well structured and composed with originality pop music lacks, they become almost too calm, and blends a little too well into the background. Red Orkestra, a band that blurs the line between rock and orchestra, if ever possible, is creating something new in music.
NOVEMBER 2006
LIFE WITH THE MACHINES
Smart second
Canadian four-piece Red Orkestra take their name from a wartime Soviet espionage project. Life with the Machines is the second album from the band, with self-declared influences including The Smiths, Suede, Nick Cave, Billy Bragg, George Harrison and Gordon Lightfoot. The opening Hank Marvinesque track World Upside Down, with its reference to the "ones who would make us slaves forevermore" sets the conscious scene.
The rolling, guitar-picking rhapsody Radio Towers leads to It's Impossible, a touching assessment of romantic love. She Stands Alone is a chance for Johnny Charmer to showcase his engaging vocals, while For a Little While wanders into Asian Dub Foundation territory. Lyrics that rhyme agitator with traitor command attention. A satisfyingly clever album.
Hugh Tynan