Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For this follow-up, Guillemots adopt a more direct approach than on the overly sensitive Through the Windowpane. In place of the lavish orchestrations that bookended their debut, Red starts with the synthetic fanfare that opens "Kriss Kross", a lumbering funk-rock groove imploring one to "dance with your thunder and lightning".
It's the first of several big riffs that sound like an attempt to bring in a more stadium-sized character, notably "Last Kiss" and "Get Over It", respectively reproachful and dismissive responses to emotional turmoil.
But, as if to balance this out, the band strive elsewhere to accentuate their songs' subtleties by adorning them with instrumental colour – the twinkly soukous-style guitar on "Standing on the Last Star", the plucked-string effect that livens up "Clarion", and, most irritatingly, the drum'n'bass patina that gets in the way of "Don't Look Down".
Fyfe Dangerfield sounds worryingly like James Blunt when he's not sounding worryingly like George Michael, but the band's core epic-rock sound is alive and well on "Words" and "Take Me Home".
Watch the video for Guillemots' track 'Get Over It'
Pick of the album: 'Kriss Kross', 'Get Over It', 'Words'
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments