Red Pants is the solo project, active since 2018, with a full-length LP and a bunch of EPs under its belt, by Madison, Wisconsin’s independent music scene stalwart, DIY multi-instrumentalist and composer as well as head of Painted Blonde Tapes imprint, Jason Lambeth, joined by longtime collaborator Elsa Nekola on drums and for the first time on vocal duty.
The band delivers a stripped-down, as instinctive as it is vibrant lo-fi guitar noise-pop sound that clearly unravels its 90s indie rock influences, echoes of Yo La Tengo, Sebadoh and GBV, with some slight shoegazing saturations combined with uneven garagey and Mission Of Burma like urgent post-punk vibes, through boisterous drumming and magnetic, swaying 6-string chord reiterations, whilst the new addition of the ecstatic female vocalizations infuse distinctive entrancing emotional dimensions, beautifully harmonizing in their contrast with the harsher distorted underpinning.
Red Pants’ sophomore album, “When We Were Dancing”, is going to be released next week on February 18th, Cassette & Digital, via Paisley Shirt Records, preceded over last weekend by a couple of tunes.
The brief, fuzzy and rocking “Another Haircut”, which somehow vocally reminds me of Doe/Cervenka from The X, also accompanied by a lovely home shot video clip, you can watch below.
Racing thoughts obsessed about a fractured relationship through a lens of guilt, dread, and impatience reveal, lyric-wise, the opening track, “Lost Momentum”, ceaselessly driven by steady, hypnotic drums along with repetitive, oppressive layers of scraping guitar riffs, amidst cymbal-charged lilting ripples, and a throbbing low end rising in ominous droning swells over soft, high strung fears and detached, celestial anxieties, to cry nervous tensions through a heavy blanket of shameful memories.
Once again the brilliant Bay Area label, Paisley Shirt Records, has the ability to unveil obscure, precious and unrefined gems that effortlessly connect with our most intimate musical heritage.
Keep up with Red Pants:
