Red Mecca – Truth (CD Album – Massproduktion)
Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, indie-pop.
Background/Info: “Truth” is Red Mecca’s fifth full length album since they reactivated in 2013. This album is however a special one as it’s the first opus featuring the new singer Susanne Jonsson who replaced Frida Madelein while Jan Strandqvist is still taking care of the music.
Content: The songs remain driven by electro-pop influences, but the global atmosphere became darker and also indie-like. One of the songs (cf. “Our Story Told”) even reminds me a bit of Björkk. The tracks are carried by a slow cadence injecting a sensual touch. There also is something wafting emerging from the songs.
+ + + : It’s not an easy thing for a band to move on with a new singer, but the transition from the previous releases towards “Truth” has been remarkably accomplished. Susanne Jonsson has a sensual and sometimes fragile timbre of voice, which is fitting with the sound of the band. I especially like her vocals on “Truth”. It also is the most convincing song from the album for its darkness and indie-approach. Red Mecca sounds far away from the Swedish electro-pop formations and brings something more personal. I also have to say a word about the great digipak format of this album.
– – – : The main regret I have when listening to “Truth” is that most of the songs don’t really reach a climax. There’s much more potential in this album than what came out.
Conclusion: Red Mecca remains a rather unknown formation from the electro-pop scene. I think they deserve more recognition and they definitely have the potential to break through.
Best songs: “Truth”, “Our Story Told”, “Hold Your Breath”, “A Dark Place”.
Rate: (7½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/redmeccasundsvall
Label:
www.massproduktion.com / www.facebook.com/Massproduktion
About Red Mecca
Red Mecca is the Swedish project of Jan Strandqvist, formed in 1997. The project stayed mostly dormant for a decade before Strandqvist resumed performing live in 2010 and brought in vocalist Frida Madeleine as a permanent member in 2013, a line-up that released four albums on Massproduktion: “Covered With Rain” (2014), “Electricity” (2015), “Set In Motion” (2017), and “The Fall And The End” (2018).
Madeleine left after those four records and was replaced by Susanne Jonsson, whose debut with the band is “Truth”. The pair also released a cover-version single, “Every 1’s A Winner / Working The Midnight Shift”, the same week. In a later Side-Line interview, Strandqvist summed up the band’s purpose: “music gives me courage and strength.”
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
