Winners of XFM's unsigned competition SEEING SCARLET are a London-based quartet led by South African Charlie Beall, a man who knows a thing or two about intimidation. His mother - a vocal anti-apartheid activist - was hounded out of her country by the Bureau of State Security following a sustained series of fear tactics that culminated in the walls of their house being riddled with bullets.
There's little evidence of the dramatic events that shaped Beall's early life on their debut double A side single 'Ugly Girl'/'Never Good Enough' but there is plenty of incident. Although sharing some common ground with current Brit Punk-poppers like The Kaiser Chiefs SEEING SCARLET sound more enigmatic and far less like a bunch of cheeky chappies. Their sound on 'Never Good Enough' also recalls Franz Ferdinand but their pop sensibilities are if anything even more finely tuned and at times they could be The Police for today.
In fact, if you were to ignore the reference points SEEING SCARLET just sound like a very interesting proposition for the world of Pop per se.
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Of particular note within the tight playing and affecting melodic strokes are the vocal harmonies and it's evident from the performance of Beall that he will be a front-man to watch. Don't say this too loudly but there is something of Robbie Williams' power (yes, his voice does have power despite what you might think about his persona) which should also help to turn a few more heads.
SEEING SCARLET are an eminently attractive sounding band with a keen ear for a tune and a distinctive awareness of the liberating power of a great song. As debut singles go this is a very welcome blast of pop thrills.
I'm hooked.
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