The Red Shift - ​Blind

The Red Shift

​Blind
self-released; 2015

3.3 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

The Red Shift is a band comprised of Colton Wilson (guitar/backing vocals), Aaron Sutton  (bass/vocals) and Daltin Loomis (drums) from West Chester, Ohio. Just by taking a look at their Facebook page it's obvious these young lads have a lot of years ahead of them to work on their craft. I was instantly reminded of my high school days jamming in my mom's friend's basement when looking at these pics. I then thought about the music I played and how it sounded very similar to musicians I idolized at the time (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana).

After taking a listen to their three-song EP entitled Blind I would say the band is a couple of notches above where I was at their age. The songs are very broad sounding rock songs where you can reference bands like Weezer to The Strokes and everywhere in between. The three songs revolve around basic power chords progressions, catchy vocal melodies and decent delivery but they don’t have much definition at this point. Definition in the sense that these songs aren’t developed enough to create a signature sound for the band. The Red Shift is a real life example of the ubiquitous band rocking out in the suburbs.

The fact The Red Shift doesn’t have much of a distinct sound at this point shouldn’t come as a big surprise when considering their age. I started writing music when I was around fourteen and I can say the best and most original material started coming to fruition when I was around twenty-seven. The fact that this band knows how to write a hook and have some creative talent implies that if (and that's a big if) they stay together long they will be pouring out some killer tunes. Until then, the songs on Blind while about demo quality will suffice. 

The band opens with “Perfume” which is a meld between surf and garage rock. It contains predictable tropes but nonetheless is enjoyable. Sutton sings about a girl who he likes and is creating distance (an experience that is a right of passage as a male in high school). He sings, “The weather's different when you're around / But now you're acting like some kind of cloud / It's true, I'd drive all night for you.” 

There is a good bit of irony in the song “Stubborn” where the singer mentions Weezer and the song itself sounds like something you would hear from Weezer. They close with “My Eyes” which is a straightforward garage rock song.

At this point The Red Shift isn't competitive with the best indie rock bands on the planet but are a bit above average when it comes to young guys jamming together after school. The band fits into a category of wait and see. Who knows maybe in five to ten years The Red Shift will be introducing the next level of music into the world.

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