Janus – Red Right Return
Level It Records
(4/5)
In today’s “Alternative” genre, there tends to be a “cookie cutter” way of sounding, but Janus has broken the mold with their sophomore album Red Right Return! With the mix of multiple styles, including Rock, Metal, and Electronica, incorporated into this great album, it’s truly hard to place Janus into just one genre of music, but that is certainly not a bad thing. Overall, this album is just a great representation of musical and lyrical talent. Lyrically, Red Right Return reflects human condition from both inward and outward perspectives, leaving the listener to draw his/her own conclusions. This concept is definitely matched by the actual lyrics themselves including lines such as: “The stain a lie leaves on your skin; Is a choice, a right, to feel what you feel; Aim low and medicate your fear. Pray that your time will satisfy your means.” (“Six Letters Sent” (Track 1)). Reading the lyrics as you listen to the tracks helps show the power behind the music the awesome band is creating. This is music that is breaking free from the trends of today’s “popular” music to show that there is still life out there in the music world. Helping get the point across over the different styles of music presented on the album are the vocals. With a mix of singing and, a little bit of, screaming, singer David Scotney really drives home the concepts written into the lyrics. To get a really good grasp of the relationship between music and lyrics, I would suggest listening to the track mentioned above “Six Letters Sent” (Track 1) as well as “If I Were You” (Track 2), “Eyesore” (Track 5), and “Skin Deep” (Track 6). These four tracks provide a good look at the different music styles represented in this album as well as the correspondence of the deep lyrics with the music. Obviously, the concepts in Red Right Return are not limited to those four tracks, but I feel they are the best examples. Overall, this is a great album from a great band and I can’t wait to see what Janus has in store for the future!
