Compound Red: Always a Pleasure

First, before writing anything about Compound Red, I will say that I usually know very little about the music I like. And that I get info from other blogs to stress accuracy. But I'm not here to lay down the history of musicians and groups, but to emphasize their hard work and their intricate craft. So to begin:

Compound Red was one of those many number of bands from the Midwest that made emotionally charged rock music. A lot of other bands are similar to Compound Red in their sound and styling, but none reach what seems to be a maturity within Compound Red's workings. The songs flow with jangly, melodic guitars and thick bouncy bass lines, the drums and mixed loudly and sound thorough, while the singer (the second since Compound Red's creation) peels through notes with less whine and more airy darkness. Unlike many of their counterparts - such as Mineral and American Football, Boy's Life, and Texas is the Reason - Compound Red had most of their influence from more familiar grounds. They took evenly from most genres but didn't pull too hard in one direction. Mineral (especially on their second album, EndSerenading) emphasized lowly, whiny vocal delivers, and Boy's Life stretched some tracks to 7 mins plus - which to my ears led to a slight disliking. Compound Red took many sounds from punk, post hardcore, blues, and standard rock - as well as a constant flow of Midwest emotion.

Always a Pleasure, was Compound Red's second album and was released on Desoto Records in 1998. To me the album is an undeniably successful blend of the sounds that I love.

1. Verses the Ocean
2. Return (+)
3. Goodbye to Paris
4. Volcano Kisses (-)
5. Sway (+) *
6. Color of Contrast (+)
7. Cancel the Sound (+) *
8.Sky (+)
9. Speed So Slow (+)
10. The Learning Curve (+)*
11. Art of Building (-)

For the most part, the album is made of melodic anthems - the strongest of which appear in the middle, beginning with "Sway" and continuing to the beautiful and haunting "The Learning Curve". The songs between here are driving and yet, intricate. The songs that stand out are the ones with the least experimentation, and (a very rare case in this genre of indie) the smallest use of dynamic. Songs like "Sky", "Cancel the Contrast", and the "Learning Curve" tend to stay at their peaks (or depressions) for the majority of the track; aside from a few technical moments. The tracks that absolutely shine are "Cancel the Sound", "The Learning Curve", and "Sway"; summarizing the band between a straight ahead single, to an emotional epiphany, to a bending and vocally soothing mid tempo time bomb.

Compound Red and Always a Pleasure fit within the album rock ideal. Being a band with a small following and low recognition, (and the whole independent distribution thing), they understood how important the album as a whole must be. Branching between moods from start to finish, while keeping in mind a solid selection with the track listing, the album blooms and performs like a classic.

The First

Hi, I wanted to write a blog because I like reading them. I think it is an interesting way to spend (waste) time, and a way to connect with people who have similar interests and ideas. I'm gonna write about music, some of which I have discovered on other blogs, some I have found myself. In writing maybe I can find something that you can enjoy, or at most find interesting, or a genre or idea that you hate so you can stay away. Maybe I'll write about other stuff as well, i don't know.