Red Eyed Legends - The High I Feel When I’m Low - Gold Standard Laboratories, 2004 (GSL86)

Reviewed by Sean Silver

With the rejuvenation of the “rock & roll scene” so prevalent on the FM dial nowadays, it’s nice to hear plain old dirty rock with no false pretenses (see The Darkness and Jet), and Chicago’s Red Eyed Legends are just that: dirty guitar rock with no excuses, no exaggerated sense of self-importance, and completely devoid of the virtually inescapable Chicago indie crowd aura of music hierarchy. They’re not reinventing hair-metal and not stealing Iggy Pop tunes hoping the teens won’t notice. What REL have done is made a record that takes obvious influences (Fugazi, Shellac) and weaves a sound that is often imitated and almost duplicated, but never done quite right. The High I Feel When I’m Low gets it right.

REL's debut EP kicks off with the rollercoaster-like guitar of “Hamilcus (indoor version),” which segues directly into what is essentially the same track, but this time it’s the “super-indoor version,” which samples the distinct guitar theme of the former, but is virtually unrecognizable as the same song. On songs like “Locked In” and the title track, Chris Thomson’s scream / yelp is eerily reminiscent of the late Bon Scott fronting early-day Fugazi (minus Mackaye’s self-anointed indie crown), but with the snotty arrogance of Johnny Lydon.

Most of the seven tracks include some sort of extended instrumental interlude, like the closing of “Red Mustache,” which exposes the true ideals and influences of the band: driving guitars that meld sleazy guitar rock with the punk / art that REL seem careful not to delve too deeply into. Just when you think some of these songs are going to combust into an all-out New York punk-scene disaster, something ropes it all back together making this EP a perfect sample of REL’s strengths. The lyrics are almost secondary on these songs; what makes the record is what’s going on behind the words.

RIYL: Fugazi, Shellac, The Hives (minus the sing-a-longs)

Originally posted in Issue 1.3, November/December 2004