The PhiLL(er)



Red Glows Brighter Cover
Second Story Man

Red Glows Brighter
Landmark Recordings

Seven songs by this ambitious guitar band from Louisville. But actually there's eight songs, because there's a hidden track. Come on, guys! Hidden tracks? It's like so totally 90s, man. And I think that's probably why I don't really like this record too much: it's pretty 90s. Some of the songs are interesting, especially the first two, but they all seem too long, and song number five, the horrendously titled "Cancer Dance", is a kind of sub-Yo La Tengo dirge. The slightly ethereal vocal stylings of the singers, which in the first couple tracks do some nice harmonies and seem to complement the music in a surprising way, get stale by the end of the album, maybe because the songs aren't as good. It all starts sounding rather formulaic and second hand: things start slow and quiet, but build progressively over a few minutes, and maybe they get quieter at the end. We don't really need this kind of stuff. Oh well.