Redjetson Other Arms

Redjetson, a post-rock band from Essex, called it quits months before the release of its second album Other Arms, and – like a species of animal that becomes extinct before leaving a mark on the fossil record – Redjetson came and went before many people even noticed. It seems doubtful, but the blog culture’s amber may preserve this mosquito of an album long enough to attract some cultish attention.

It may be cruel to say that Other Arms is not much of a parting shot, but the band members really do sound tired. Six-minute opener Soldiers and Dinosaurs bases its vocal counterpoint and echoing guitars on a promising six-beat drum pattern and encapsulates virtually all the positive and negative aspects of the band’s music. Unlike a long track from Sonic Youth or Mastodon, on which you hardly notice its length, an epic Redjetson track makes you feel every second of it. The songs are made of tones, not hooks; textures, not riffs; and moods, not images. Essentially, the pieces tend to lack magnetism and energy.

As lyricists, they show promise with their combination of drama and art-rock irony. “There is no apocalypse. Turn off the lights and have some fun,” vocalist Clive Kentish sings on For Those Who Died Dancing. The jangling guitars and the sudden dynamic shifts, combined with the unvaryingly melancholy vocals, put this music in an enigmatic genre: emo without the raw emotion. Threnody, on the other hand, is exactly as cheerful as its title suggests (“Get in touch with God, or cover me in vice”). On Questions I Don’t Want to Ask, the title of which most blatantly hammers it into the emo genre, Kentish’s moaning displays both sorrow and indifference (“I’m as happy as I need to be”).

The second half saves the album, and if there is one essential track, it’s Count These Demons, a minor stadium number with a chorus that penetrates the sky like a searchlight. Most of Redjetson’s music dramatically builds up with layers of sound but rarely propels itself forward. Count These Demons is one of the exceptions. Others highlights include (g)Listen, which steps off with a bouncing riff that could double as the lead for a hoedown, and Witches at the Controls, which features a beautiful shimmering guitar in its opening bars. Sadly, this creativity couldn't keep Redjetson alive.