Redcoats EP Review!
Melbournians Redcoats are getting bigger and bigger these days – even as I'm writing this, one of the country's most popular radio stations is blaring their breakthrough single Dreamshaker.
Formed in 2007 in the febrile post-Cog/The Butterfly Effect/Karnivool/Mammal environment, the four-piece have done four years of the proverbial 'hard slog' prior to exploding on the national airwaves and becoming serious pretenders to the Australian heavy rock throne – currently occupied by Brisbane's Dead Letter Circus.
Brief yet 'soupy', Redcoats' self-titled five-track EP positions them at the instantly-effective sonic cusp: less proggy than fellow hometowners The Sleep Parade, but just as chunky as vintage TBE. Frontman Emilio Mercuri's histrionic, yelping vocals bear a striking similarity to The Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala, while some of the record's 'noodlier' moments bring to mind outfit At The Drive-In.
However, it's the molasses-thick guitar riffs (mostly in drop-D tuning so beloved of Oz-progsters) and a busy rhythm section that dominate the mix. Numbers like Kaytrucker and Rainbow Lips recall QOTSA with their low-frequency assault, while the concluding Dreamshaker – AKA the thundering rocker currently being 'smashed' by Triple J – includes a long, eerie outro that actually gives the track an additional cool edge. Like I've said earlier, these guys are going to be massive.
4 stars
Denis Semchenko AAA Backstage
