Scarlet- This Was Always Meant To Fall Apart (8/10)

Ah... Scarlet. This album, say what you will, has been very influential in my own life (musically, that is). There's something about the band that has always appealed to me as a total package, and I always felt like it shined through exceptionally on this record. When I say "as a total package" I mean that any one thing about the band by itself really isn't that special to me. It's only when all the ingredients come together and it's taken as a whole... which is what I typically enjoy about all the bands I listen to. I'm not one to love a band because they have an amazing guitar player, or because the lyrics are profound, or any one specific thing because I don't believe music should be listened to that way.

Anyways, what Scarlet is and has been to me is this: overtly cynical lyrics, catchy genre-avoiding riffs, excellent production, well placed melodies, and an overall accessibility without completely rehashing everything we've all heard before. In no way is this band a departure of the norm and I don't think it should be viewed as such, but there is alot to appreciate here. "Obsolete," the opening track, became one of my favorite songs for the next few months, even though it is merely an intro to the record. There's something about a "heavy" band doing something like this at the beginning of the record that I always cling to, largely because it's done so well. It's so easy to lose steam or be written off right off the bat when you do something softer like this at the beginning; most cookie cutter heavy bands try and start off with songs that describe every aspect of them in brief.

As the record progresses, you get a feel for the undeniably heavy yet easily accessible sound which was the new Scarlet. The new vocalist's voice is simply awesome- in fact, the reason the band has ultimately disbanded is because they didn't think they could find another vocalist as good (that and probably the rampant drug abuse factor... and probably the fact that they are all scum bags or something). The production is awesome and the album is crisp and hard hitting, and the layered electronic sounds and samples complete the album perfectly.

This is what I love about music, and don't misunderstand and think that I'm calling Scarlet the greatest band on the earth- in fact, it's quite the opposite. This is a band that once again is doing nothing special in any one area: neither guitar player flashes any sort of uber-technical skill (nor the drummer), the music is creative but still retains alot of what you hear in other heavy bands these days... but everything is SOLID, and when you put everything together, you end up with a great album. The first time I listened to this something inside me latched onto it, and that's what music is supposed to do. The majority of the people in the world don't need a logical reason to love the music they do, it just has to do with the overall catchiness and accessibility of the record. Something about it speaks to them, and something about this record speaks to me.

All of that being said, there are some problems with this record. First, I can't sit and listen to the whole thing. I guess either the songs are too long or they just did too much of the same thing- probably a little of both. Also, something that is always hard to listen to and is definitely present on this album is the sense that they're going out of their way to sell records this time. I mean, the difference between the last record and this one as far as added singing melodies go is astronomical, and I think that shines through a little. There's just a little too much singing in this for me to think it's really just what Scarlet should have done. But nonetheless, there is no denying how much this record has influenced my own musical direction, and for that, credit must be given where it's due.

So go check it out.

Les Revenants (They Came Back) (7/10)

Les Revenants or They Came Back is an artistic zombie-ish movie from France, directed by Robin Campillo. Across the globe, millions of the recently deceased have come back from the dead and walked back into society, and the film focuses in on a small French town where the mayor and a committee of officials determine the best course of action. The dead return to their loved ones, to their jobs- ultimately, attempting to return to their lives, but there are subtle, disturbing differences in their new incarnations.

The movie is intriguing and gripping. I was pretty sucked in throughout the whole movie for several reasons. First, probably my favorite aspect of this movie is the subtlety of the acting. The "dead" behave seemingly normal, but seem distant; their motor skills are only slightly slower and, as one character describes it, they behave as if constantly stuck in a world where they have just begun to wake up- their minds are flooded with jumbled memories and thoughts and feelings that they can't process, and in the meantime they are just going through the motions of life. While I generally enjoy a good horror-zombie flick, it is nice to see a different, more subtle take, instead of the limping-on-a-broken-leg rotting corpse-zombies or even the jittery, fast moving zombies of 28 Days Later.

The bizarre thing about this movie is that at first, the problem is approached very logically, and so I was expecting a scientific explanation, or at least some sort of explanation as to their presence and all of that. It just seemed natural. But little thought seems to be put into where they came from, and in the end we are left with no answer. In fact, by the end of the movie, one begins to feel that the entire affair is completely inexplicable and random, and I wondered at the purpose. But it's clear to me that the theme of this movie and the major idea that is portrayed is that we often long for the return of our lost loved ones, and Campillo seems to be trying to show what that would look like; the emotions felt and the strange way one learns to live with someone that has struggled to get over and has accepted as gone... if that makes sense.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will probably watch it again.