Winter in Buffalo is no joke — just ask Interpol.
With an average seasonal snowfall of over 90 inches, The Queen City’s cold season makes ours in New England look like child’s play. To get the locals by when the wind is blows harshly in faces and the temperatures are horribly frigid, there’s a weird and funky punk rock trio living up to their name by scorching up a storm. They’re known as Red Heat and they have their brand new album Animals being premiered on Vanyaland today.
What will strike you at first is the hyper distorted tones coming from Nick Randall’s guitar. He resonates a lot of noise with fuzzy chords and intense riffs, it makes for a peculiar sound that is slightly out of the ordinary in terms of structure. The trio’s subtle funkiness comes from Brandon Schlia on bass while Jordan Jones brings an exuberant dose of power on the drums. Throughout Animals these interesting elements come together to create a vital musical arsenal to be reckoned with.
There’s no bullshit with the band’s lyrics either, as Schlia takes on the mic singing about real life events. The title says it all in “Liquor Store”, an ode to the late nights working at the packy and the characters you’ll meet while battling your own self-loathing. It’s a track with an assortment of break downs that’s an anthem for anyone who hates their job. “Avatar-Andre” talks about how easy life seems as a video game but how difficult it can be in reality. Definitely the poppiest tune on the album with Randall showing pristine skill on his six-string. A track that’ll make you dance and then want to jump into a mosh pit, “Action News!” got a fusion of groove and angst that’ll take your eardrums to new heights.
Tonight there will be a dual celebration for Red Heat’s release of Animals along with their label Steak & Cake Records ringing in their five-year anniversary. With a plethora of other bands joining in on the fray, the extravaganza will be taking place at a DIY space called Curly’s in the Buffalo area — for more info, ask a frozen punk.
While you await this evening’s festivities, get amped up with Red Heat’s new album and buy it at the show.
