Red To Violet By Andy Dykes

The old adage, never judge a book by its cover has never meant so much to me as when reviewing Red To Violet's eponymous offering from way back in 2000. Why am I reviewing it five years late? Who knows. Anyway, the front cover of the album shows the two musicians, caught in a pose that suggests they were nonchalantly unaware of the presence of a photographer at the time the photo was taken. The lady indeed looks slightly startled, perhaps by the flash.

The man just so happens to have a guitar slung over his shoulder and appears to be staring into the distance. He's wearing red, she's wearing purple. Or perhaps it's violet.

The back cover does nothing to restore confidence. It sees our heroes enjoying some down time in the lotus position atop small pillars, dressed completely in white. Except the woman has a red heart on her t-shirt, not dissimilar to the logo of Walls, purveyors of quality ice cream and sausages. I feel I am digressing somewhat. The crux of the matter is that the album cover is pretty awful and as representative of the content within, would not lead me to make a purchase was I pick up Red To Violet in my local record store.

However, the album artwork does not do justice to the music. While the cover more than suggests that Red To Violet are hippy poseurs, and while their song titles don't suggest anything to the contrary (And consciousness, And the rainforest - Mother Earth; Let there be light, And shine on, Even more than enough, Like the sun, Because that light is what we call love - Let There Be Light), their music packs a whole lot more chic than seems possible from first impression.

The opening track Here I Am is a brooding little number, with layers of instruments subtly thrown into the mix, creating a deep, atmospheric sound. It's a testament to the quality of the production, which, I might add, is the work of the members of Red To Violet themselves. The song builds and builds to a restrained, though fitting climax.

For the most part, the songs are fairly low-fi, downbeat affairs, circling around choruses that are sometimes infectious (Mr. J), sometimes annoying (Mother Earth). There are a couple of more ponderous moments, like Don't Wanna Lose You. Weighing in at a little over 6 minutes, it's a bit of an effort to see out. However, this album works really well as a cohesive and entire piece of work.

Of course there are notable highlights (The Way You Are and Don't Let Your Mind Play Games to name but two), but the good thing about this record is that it's great to listen to as a record - and not just a collection of songs - successfully and impressively betraying the cringeworthy artwork. So kids: never judge a book by its cover. Or a CD.

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