Falling Red – “Lost Souls”

Back in 2006, in and around the area of Cumbria, two gentlemen by the name of Rozey and Dave Sanders decided that the UK (And ultimately the world) needed a little more rock ‘n’ roll, and as a result, they formed FALLING RED. The quartet, now completed by Mikey Lawless and Shane Kirk, are a self-described post-sleaze outfit who despite heavy comparisons to MOTLEY CRUE and early GUNS ‘N’ ROSES, believe they bring something more to the table than your typical hair-metal glam-rock onslaught, and over the course of their ten-year-plus career they’ve established themselves as a reliable touring band on British soil. 2018 sees them release their 3^rd album entitled “Lost Souls” via Cargo Records…will we fall for Falling Red or will these souls get lost in the shuffle? Let’s find out…

We open up with “The Darkest Day (Intro)” and lads…don’t patronise me, the track is 58 seconds long I know it’s an intro, you honestly don’t have to spell it out for me…the (Intro) itself is an acoustic led monologue which in all honesty comes across as very “The Heroin Diaries” a la NIKKI SIXX…it’s got that self-depreciating perspective to it, a certain depth of emotions broken down by defeat and as a narrative at the very least it provides a solid introduction, leading on to first track proper “The Day I Lost My Soul”. Acknowledging the comparisons they already get, it’s easy to see why they are referenced under the same breath as our favourite 80’s hell raiser’s…the tone, the swagger, the attitude is all there along with the soaring gang vocals, the solo…this is textbook dirty rock ‘n’ roll and slots itself effortlessly between the likes of VAINS OF JENNA and SIXX A.M.

Rock ‘n’ roll is very much at the heart of the bands song writing style but they do try to shake things up a little here and there, avoiding a complete typecasting. Tracks such as “Digital Disguise” while retaining a surging, up-tempo feel for the most part with some deep, chugging riffs, Rozey takes the chorus into an unexpected, almost power-metal direction and while that’s all well and good, he really doesn’t have the capability to do so with any real authority and the chorus as a result just sounds really off. The track IS saved by a strong solo but let’s not paper over the cracks here. Elsewhere the track “My Town My City” throws a country-inspired curve ball at proceedings, with its bluesy tones and piano accompaniment it sounds like a forgotten KID ROCK effort…they try this again with “Beautiful Lie” which has to be said has some beautifully quaint instrumentation. The overall tone of the track in ways sounds like an acoustic BELLA MORTE offering, with its morose qualities.

Coming back to instrumentation, it’s the music throughout this album that is its redeeming quality; “Dead” utilises some simple, catchy rock ‘n’ roll with some infectious guitar licks and riffs…”Enemies” has another strong solo while “A Song For The Haters” ends the album on a high note with some bold, ballsy, no-nonsense rock. Elsewhere the band can’t help but come across as, still having garage-rock standards…”Haunted” for example sounds more like a demo than a track off of album number three…a lot of the vocals are genuinely awful here it has to be said. “Alive” plods along in a rather contradictory sense, bar a brief late flurry, and “Hell In My Eyes”? More like hell in my ears mate…not even the hooks during the chorus save this one. Falling Red have undoubtedly had a decent run over the past decade, growing in stature on local scenes and becoming a regular name on up and coming festival bills, but there’s nothing here that says they are ready to take on the world. Musically sure there’s some decent rock provided here but there’s an inconsistency vocally which lets them down…less Rozey, more ropey shall we say?

Score: 6/10

Track List:

1. “The Darkest Day (Intro)”
2.  “The Day I Lost My Soul”
3.  “Digital Disguise”
4.  “Alive”
5.  “My Town My City”
6.  “Dead”
7.  “Hell In My Eyes”
8.  “War In The Sky”
9.  “Enemies”
10.  “Beautiful Lie”
11.  “Haunted”
12.  “In My Head”
13.  “A Song For The Haters”

Record Label:
Cargo Records

Release Date:
March 16th

For All Things Falling Red click HERE and to purchase the album click HERE