My Name Is Red

Alice Wont You Lay With Me is one of those songs that make you doubt, if not your own sanity, then at least your sense of time and place. Goth, electro and glam metal collide in a hail of sparks, on a dance floor somewhere in the bowels of the bands home town of Brighton, for an epic and colossal track that, in terms of structure and influence, would seem peerless in the current musical environment. Forget Nu-rave, this is something else entirely. Imagine Sisters of Mercy, Underworld and Twisted Sister joining forces to write the theme tune for the next Bond film and you might be somewhere close to approaching how this sounds. A monstrous pop noise it might be, but Chris Hodges voice still manages to tower above the chaos, belting out the chorus with enough passion and verve to fill the new Wembley. Could they be stadium bound? Should the listening public manage to get their heads around such a gloriously twisted cacophony, who knows? - Losing Today

My name is red 'Alice won't you lay with me?' (Sad Gnome). Those with fairly reasonable memories may well recall that we briefly gave this lot a mention via Missive 131 when we inadvertently (and I'll hasten to add with much joy) tripped upon the Sad Gnome record label. 'Alice' is the Brighton based ensembles debut release, an infectious honey that initially sounds like some best forgotten mid 80's rock anthem brought in from the cold re-twiddled, re-sprayed and given a cutting edge chassis refit. Not a million miles in terms of stylising as the immense Suzerain, the ultra sexy pulse pounding 'Alice' is tensely wrapped and wired with punctuated lust ridden rhythms bedded upon slickly seductive showers of synthesised whirlpools - not your happy go lucky love song for My name is red - no sir - this is your full on crawling up the walls in desperation trying to score a seedy fix all metered out to a melody pierced through with restless upping the ante strut like splintering ravaged riffs that consume you whole and cocoon you into an inescapable trap of claustrophobic desire. Flipside features 'the sun has got its hat on' and before you ask - no not the chirpy little bugger from yore but instead a loosely detached and unhinged wig flipper of sorts that initially starts out like some rapidly unravelling from the inside slacker like moocher before momentarily bypassing through a trip like techno montage only to re-emerge from the other side as a viciously lacerating non nonsense foot to pedal blistering boogie mainlining on the riff from '(I'm not your) Steppin' stone'. Essential stuff. www.sadgnomerecords.net - The Sunday Experience