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REVIEWS "Rockin' punk with attitude and swagger. This Brooklyn band might not be experiencing the hype their neighbors are getting, but they seem a lot less contrived and more talented. Off-kilter rock that lays down head-bobbing beats and throbbing basslines as foundation. Over that they add some times surfy-sounding, other times electronic sounding , guitars. The singer then adds impassioned singing and pleading vocals for everything. Red Card is one of those bands that probably feels at home performing for both dance-club crowds and rock-show crowds. This CD is honestly on caliber with bands like Interpol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, only it's little more punk, a lot less derivative and generally just better. Let the hype machine begin with me. (NS)" Punk Planet issue 54 March/April 2003 "Red Card have managed to pull off something that hasn't happened to me in a while: bowled me over completely without warning. This is easily my favorite release so far this year, and sure, while maybe it's only February, I don't see myself getting this excited for another record anytime soon. Absolutely outstanding." Action Man Magazine "Red Card have two main strengths: they're not like anybody else, and they have a sound that many might want to imitate, but few can. If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and their NYC lo-fi ilk are taking the smooth path of the devil, Red Card have chosen the rocky road of the Lord. Hallelujah." Splendid "Red Card offer more energy in this one album than most of the city's lesser known rock bands (and even some the better known ones as well, for that matter) offer in a year's worth of live performance." The Big Takeover issue 52 "It's nice to listen to an unknown band's debut and actually feel that they are making their music because they have something to convey and enjoy doing it." Lost At Sea "The Top 5 Bands To Watch in 2003." Light Up The Sky "Red Card have fused the best elements of underground music from the last three decades all into one amazing fucking record."(A+) Geek America "At times hard, loud, melodic, and just noisy, yet some how it all fits to make one great record." Crashin In "Unique blend of punk rock and avant-garde music." Invisible Youth "Ferocious, unsettling, aggressive, menacing, driving, violent, dramatic, fiery, intense, and, perfect."(5 stars) Torpedo Magazine "An all out onslaught of rock, mood, and wonderful noise." New York Waste "Red Card is one of those rock bands that's figured out how to make electric guitars and basses sound great together." Time Out New York "This band defies comparison to anything I have heard before." Impact Press "Red Card succeeds in making avante-garde rock that, for me, writing this at 3 AM, mimics a state of chemical imbalance." Rock N Roll Purgatory Rock is back. Even if it hasn't yet fully reclaimed the kind of place in the pop firmament it enjoyed circa Nevermind, then a resurgence is certainly evident in the hoopla surrounding White Stripes, Vines, Strokes, Coldplay, et al. Not to be overlooked in the "it's okay to like guitars again" sweepstakes is New York's Red Card. The band comes charging out of the gate with Lesson No.1, an unsettling declaration of intent that sets the tone for the rest of its (self-titled?) debut. Not for the faint of heart, the eleven-song set maintains its frenetic pace and dense guitar-heavy instrumentation, recalling Pixies on steroids. Elsewhere the staccato guitars and dry, throbbing drums of Curl Up in A Ball evoke the Gang of Four -- that is, if everyone's favourite Marxist-Leninists had turfed Dave Allen, or at least turned down his funkified bass a couple of notches. The track's half-sung, half-spoken words and pinging guitars do little to downplay the G4 vibe but this is, in Martha Stewart's parlance anyway, A Good Thing. Planet Boredom starts off pleasantly enough with jangly acoustic guitar then belts into an angular, Pere Ubu/Waiting for Maryesque rock waltz, making a meal of the irony: how does a band manage to sound so passionate about apathy? Speaking of which, the sarcastically titled Relax? offers up an adrenaline rush of propulsive bass and buzzsaw guitars, Fatefully Deceitful delights with its spacey 60's trip-out and the album sensibly closes with the menacing Some Lights..., the iron fist in the velvet glove. Recommended. Ken Ashdown Check out the artist's website: http://www.redcardmusic.com Track List: 1. Lesson No.1 2. Self Laugh 3. Planet Boredom 4. Relax 5. No Pasaran 6. Had Enough 7. Curl Up In A Ball 8. Fatefully Deceitful 9. Hanging Free 10. FingerPointing 11. Some Lights... Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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