SCARLET WHITE | The Other Side | Album Review

Unique acts in Christian rock music are becoming a rarity in this day and age. As a genre that once bloomed with talent as well as consistency, the genre now seems to be filled with ineffective standard hard rock, bands that once had potential solely relying on worship songs or electronics, or overall lack of talent. It's a shame that there aren't many bands in this genre that have a whole lot of staying power outside of a very select few, and even the more unknown younger talents aren't exactly pushing the genre in the right direction. However, with every genre there are always a few diamonds in the rough, and at least we have bands like Scarlet White that are reliable on bringing something unique and alluring to the table. Though Scarlet White are nowhere near as well known as Skillet or Red, and even though listeners often compare the to those bands in terms of style, it's very clear that Scarlet White are somewhat of an anomaly, merging the passion hard rock of Skillet and Red with the atmospheric qualities of bands like Fightstar, as well as pulling out a long forgotten treasure chest to find old bands like Pressure 4-5 to incorporate into their sound, therefore building the band's own take on the style. Now in 2017, the band has released "The Other Side", their third full-length album, which is a perfect example of the unique feeling that the band gives listeners through their music.

Over a year ago, Scarlet White gave us the first taste of the direction of this new LP with the song "Lost In The Smoke", and later this February we got another taste with "One Less", both of which are tracks 7 and 8 in the album tracklist. In my opinion, these are two tracks that beg to get some attention from rock fans. "Lost In The Smoke" especially stands out well with its more emotional backdrop where the two styles of heavy nu-metal riffage and soft balladry clash together in a successful attempt to make the listener feel something. Lyrically, this seems to be much more than the typical "I will rise up" and "God is good" themes rampant in the genre as the song tackles the important issue of children living in a broken family pleading for some togetherness. The instrumentation that resides behind the lyricism fits very well and the vocal melodies coming from lead singer Spencer Minor further add to the emotion of the song. "One Less" is obviously the heavier one of the two and also does a good job at being a well-written track that doesn't feel as typical as what's currently going on in Christian rock music today. For those who heard both of these songs before the release of "The Other Side", they both give somewhat of a baseline of the style that's just waiting to be heard on Scarlet White's third record. 

Strangely enough, this album features some risky material in the sense that on the first listen the listener is greeted with a two-minute intro track named "Resignation", which serves as an intro to the actual opening song "Moving On Without You", which has a staggering 5 minute and 47 minute runtime, so in total, the first two tracks have a total runtime of almost 8 minutes. It's an example of the band expanding the already solid idea of a four-minute rocker and trying to make something worth remembering. In terms of its style, the track carries similarities to "Lost In The Smoke" with the soft and heavy dynamics going at each other while also dabbling in some good hooks in terms of the chorus and some screamed vocals. This side of the band seems to be the most represented on the album with "Death Knows My Name" and the current single "Silence", and both songs flow just as well with some fantastic drumwork and more undeniably strong hooks. That's not to say this album doesn't lean more towards the heavy side as tracks like "Falter" and "Started At One" could fit very well on their last album "The Inbetween" but in a good way, but when listening to the final product, it is very hard to ignore the idea that the band were serious about the music they were creating by adding in an emotional aspect to some of these tracks and making it work. 

There are a few dips in the experience that don't show the band at their strongest points such as "Help Yourself" or the title track, even though I think preference has a little bit to do with why these songs don't stick out quite as much. Also, the album is only nine tracks aside from a track named "Breathe" which came from an earlier album, and the semi-short quantity of songs can cause a listener to want more from the band. But, overall, I do have to say that I'm very impressed with this album. Out of the band's short and underrated discography, I'm probably going to consider "The Other Side" as my favorite album from this band. For those rock listeners looking for another band in the same vein as Breaking Benjamin, Skillet, Red, Three Days Grace, and other bands of their ilk, Scarlet White will offer some similar quirks to those bands but also carries its own identity that sets it apart from everyone else. This is proof that Christian rock still has something to offer in 2017, and it's proof that Scarlet White is a band that needs to be discovered by more people in order to get the entirety of the genre involved and interested. 

RATING: 7/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.