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Starting off this album is a soft and quite lovely instrumental that with its underlying sounds of a thunderstorm combined with the moody piano and guitar, reminds the listener of “Violet” from Zao’s Blood and Fire album, or of something that Focal Point might have done as an album closer.  Once this brief foray into beauty is done, Love Is Red sets out on a mission to prove that hardcore can be heartbroken too. Taking the fast hardcore-punk delivery of Stretch Armstrong and the emotional vocals of Hopesfall, Love Is Red sings heart-wrenching songs about love and rejection.  “So will this be the last time, or will you come and break my heart again” ponders the band in their first full song, “I Gave You The Best of Me.”  This sort of theme recurs throughout the album, in songs like “Third Time Wasn’t Quite a Charm” and “I’m Still Not Sure Why I’m Alone.”  It would seem that some evil-tempered lass laid quite a scar on the hearts of these bandmates.  This leads to the main downfall of the album, redundancy.  Sure, everyone needs a catharsis for their own crushed feelings, but it would also be nice to see more depth and profundity to the songs.  Of course, before dismissing this album entirely, remember that the early releases of Klay Scott’s Circle Of Dust had a similar redundancy about them.  Love Is Red is not at all a second rate band, they just need more time to mature. Musically, the album is pretty much straight forward hardcore, with the occasional nod to the punk-hardcore scene. “Third Time Wasn’t Quite a Charm” adds a bit of a surprise, with an opening that sounds very much like Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So.” There’s not much melodic singing on this release, and the metal influences are very sparse.  Nonetheless, this is a worthwhile release to add to your collection.  If Love Is Red can add a little more diversity to the song themes, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Duncann Tripp 5/12/2002