From the wave upon wave of new music coming my way every day, Siberian Redsocks have caught my eye almost instantly. That’s right, the eye, because the very name of this Jakarta band made me chuckle… like, who could come with a band name like that? But it works, as I’ve immediately decided to check them out. And straight away, I will say, I liked their visuals, which in our modern society based on emotions and visual inputs, it’s definitely one of the strong points.
And you know, with the genre label of “alternative” you can come up with a lot of different stuff.
So, what about Siberian Redsocks (or Sibsocks for short)? Well, they are around for a few years already, releasing singles, and having one EP under their belt. And before we’re getting to their newer stuff, I guess it won’t be a bad idea to visit their aforementioned EP for a review.
So, Newborn was released in 2016 and it contains 5 tracks.
With the instrumental “Skylight Over Siberia”, in just a few seconds you’ll have the idea what you’re gonna get here. Siberian Redsocks are an alternative rock band with the recognizable influences from the UK indie guitar acts, however, they are also keyboard heavy, and that’s a feature I like.
“Down With Guilt” continues in these steps, the britpop influences are even more present – in the music and the vocals as well -, so if you are into stuff like Snow Patrol, Keane up to Bring Me The Horizon in their later phase (and the like), you’re gonna like the band and their material in instant. And while I am not into britpop that much (I used to almost hate it, I will admit), in recent years I’ve become more welcoming. This material, though, has its own flavour. A good one at that.
I’d say “Compassion” is my favourite song on this EP. Again, nice keyboards in the background and catchy music (although a little rough around the edges), it clearly shows the potential those guys have. This one is just perfect for me, although I can’t really explain why. It just clicks.
I am always dreading the possibility band can just start to sound the same. And it happens, we all know that. “Mind Intention”, though, shows Siberian Redsocks with enough variability and ideas to throw into the songwriting to prove they are more than capable to keep the listener’s engaged. In other words, it’s the same – but different. And we all agree that’s what we want.
“Newborn” EP closes with the band’s confindently proclaiming they are “The Next Best Thing”. Well, maybe that was too bold for 2016, but with their new material, I think they are not too far away from reaching that point. Mark my words.
Have a listen: https://soundcloud.com/sibsocksofficial/sets/newborn-ep
