Scarlet Grey – Fancy Blood

The “single” is a precarious beast.  Bands, managers, and media associates stew over them for months deciding on just what track will afford the right connection with audiences, and ultimately serve as musical ambassador to the masses.  But as I was recently reminded with Los Angeles four piece Scarlet Grey’s current single, “Mr. Sinister,” they can also be misleading.  The single welcomes instant comparison with AFI’s electronic goth side.  Front man Ben Grey projects dark whispering lows and pitchy, cloud-reaching highs, all guided by dark melody and lingering synth notes.  So pick up the accompanying EP,Fancy Blood, and you’d expect the rest to follow suit.

But you’d be mistaken.  Right away the opening track makes out Scarlet Grey as so much more than an AFI imitator.  Imagine my surprise when I fired up “The Sky And I” only to be hit with a jolting combination of AFI meets Angels And Airwaves.  The result feels oddly natural and makes one ponder what took this long for a band to realize this fusion.  “Naomi” follows next and suddenly transforms into a melodic, upstroke-laced pop punk gem, shedding the AVA while maintaining a dark spirit.  Now, the end of the EP provides something closer to what one might expect from “Mr. Sinister,” – “The Sky And I” actually features an appearance by Davy Havok himself and a ton of gloomy synth beats – but even that comes across with a sound unique to Scarlet Grey.

However, Fancy Blood also suffers from a couple recurring ailments.  The first is a production issue.  Like many overproduced albums the band’s bass guitar has almost no punch.  Which is odd, because Fancy Blood isn’t particularly over produced.  Even so, something just feels amiss, ultimately preventing Scarlet Grey from achieving a true richness of character.  Furthermore, the EP also suffers from the occasional generic tune.  “Business Colors” in particular stands as a rather lifeless track, offering very little audio range or inherent excitement.  Thankfully though it’s an exception, with most tracks either taking a more original approach or landing a catchy melody.

So overall, Scarlet Grey understands that to admire AFI isn’t to be them, but to take the elements that excite them, and infuse them with their own unique spin.  Save for a few exceptions, the formula works and results in an EP that goes so much deeper than it’s initial single might suggest.  Check out Fancy Blood if you’re up for an album that’s catchy and inventive.