Music Review // little window "Red Ant"
When listening to the new album "Red Ant" there are two things which stand out the most to me. First off, it has to be the guitars. They can come through so big and distorted, so crushing that they just seem to take over the entire sound, though I know that the bass and percussion are back there adding to feeling of grunge/punk/metal. The other part of these songs which you'll hear and begin to identify with them are the vocals. Eli Howey has this way of changing vocals ranges to where the vocals just shoot up to higher octaves rather quickly which can make them feel both distinct and unique.
As someone who loves music I can tell you that opening up your album with a five and a half minute song is a choice. Not everyone might be willing to stick around this long to hear the winding like clock gears indie rock stylings of sound, which can feel mechanical, and then as the vocals come in it kicks into those big distorted guitars. This first song- "Dirty Bookshelf"- really does set the pace for the album though. It feels somewhat like Jane's Addiction at times, but also takes this quieter break full of scratching and just sounding overall haunted. When those big, crushing guitars return it reminds me of Weep Wave and Pearl Jam.
If you're not able to make it through five and half minutes through the complexities of the first song then this album might not be for you, but then we go right into one of my favorites on this album- "Goldenrod"- which has more of a groove to its big distorted guitars. It reminds me of the song "So Wrong" by Stabbing Westward in that way. Though there are other lyrics within here, this song mostly says: "I'll take your soul / And I'll break it / And I'll break you" which seems to set the tone for the album in a sense outside of the musical aspects of it.
The more songs I listen to on this album and the more times that I listen to them the more I think that this band Little Window would be great on a compilation like No Alternative. This makes me want to revive that idea, grab some of the modern artists who aren't quite grunge but are that sound within Pavement, Bob Mould, Smashing Pumpkins, Matthew Sweet, etc. "Weeks" has a fast pace to it but then can break down into something just so lovely and dreamy. "Get You Good" has more of a melodic way about it musically but also brings out more of the anxiety and paranoia which I think is the theme on "Red Ant".
Big distorted guitar riffs open up the titular track where you'll hear lines like "Tell me when you feel my heart" and to take this back to something as simple as the days of "Wayne's World", this just flat out rocks. A little bit of creaking goes into that big bass line and panic rock on "So Many Times". "Red Ant" ends with a song called "Move" which is probably the closest to something modern in terms of comparison but even though this can feel like something of that certain period of the 1990's it seems that musically, vocally and lyrically Little Window is setting their own rules, their own tone and creating their own sound.
Back in the early 2000's as grunge and even alternative rock began to fade, we got into this pop punk era of music, at least for me. And I remember listening to bands who were overly catchy and then I got this benefit compilation called "Because We Care" and I heard a band on there for the first time called Campground Effect. Though the two bands may not sound exactly the same, it's just that same idea of when you're in a sea of repetition and you hear something that breaks the mold your immediate thought is how refreshing it is, but then on subsequent listens you begin to appreciate the little parts which make it so special.
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