I've been really grooving on The Scarlet Ending lately, and nobody actually seems to know they exist besides me, SOOO, I will do a quick review on them and their stuff.
The Scarlet Ending is a band, just in case any of you little crumbsnatchers were wondering, and as far as I can tell (I own all of their albums), they are a damn good one. They're indie, though, and not particularly widespread (I heard them on Pandora, lucky me! Thank you Pandora!), so I figured I'd spread the word a little and give them some free advertising, in addition to ALL MY MONEY (freakin' bands, taking all my money).
I've had a little bit of a challenge classifying them, and apparently so have they. Through four albums, in chronological order, they have classified themselves as Folk, Rock, Pop, and then Rock again, but with their acoustic violin, classical piano, guitar, drums, and whatever the hell else they have (they have six members, but I am not musically educated well enough to identify everything everyone plays just by listening, sadly), they have a sort of... I don't know, brooding, neo-classical baroque folk-rock, kind of vibe. Or something like that. I really have no clue.
Anywho, the band is fronted by Kayleigh and Kaleena Goldsworthy, who are, you guessed it, hot identical twins (and seriously, who doesn't love hot identical twins?). The fact that they are twins is neat, since they both sing -- mostly Kayleigh, but Kaleena sings backup and harmonies as well (along with their lead guitarist, more on him later). Since they sound very similar, it gives the band a kind of cool, organic echo as far as vocals go. I get a strange enjoyment out of this.
As their token manly man, Jon Tedd plays lead guitar (Kayleigh plays violin and guitar, Kaleena plays... everything else, it seems) and does the occasional backup or complimenting vocals, when the twins decide something means to be manlier. He even gets one song (The Villain) where only he sings. It's surprisingly nice.
But, enough Trivial Things (if you'd get out there and buy the damn albums, you'd see what I did there), let me get on to discussing what I think of them.
They're pretty good.
Seriously though, they have ups and downs like all bands. Their first EP (self-titled) was actually pretty meh overall, and I'm glad it wasn't the first one I bought, because I likely wouldn't have moved on to the other albums. The band finds its feet on its first full-length album, Cries and Whispers, where their melodies become more distinct and their band becomes a little more powerful. Their next album, Ghosts, is still their best, and contains their three best songs (The Gold, Disease on Parade, and Exactly What You Want), but their next EP is also strong and shows that they aren't losing steam.
So, go check them out on youtube or something. They only have a few songs up there, but they're solid, and should give you an indication as to whether or not you'll like them. Tell me what you think in the comments, and I'll personally consider giving you an e-cookie!
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For more reviews and articles like this one, check out my blog, Chronicles of a Stoic Maniac.
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