illScarlett. What a name, I thought it'd be generic metalcore so I stayed away from the promo as long as I could afford to, but to my surprise it's actually relaxed reggae rock with ska and dub influences, also showing moments were a surf punk description feels justified. The Ontario, Canada-based act just released their fourth full length album "1UP!", and since I haven't heard of the band prior to this review, all along I thought I was listening to the new material until I did my research just before writing and realized that this is actually their 8 track EP "EPdemic" from 2006. I'm not sure if a mistake has happened somewhere and the download link I received contained the wrong disc, in which case I'm sure you'll be reading again about these guys very soon here on Rockfreaks.net, but either way, here's a review of "EPDemic".
As is always expected with reggae-rock based ska bands, hints of Sublime can be heard everywhere, but otherwise sounds of bands like The Capital Beat, 311, The Aggrolites and Pepper are interpreted in various ways on the EP. The tempo is mostly kept at a fairly slow level to create a relaxed summery feeling, but every now and then the band moves into ska-punk territory as with "Not A Prophecy" where they are at their most aggressive. But the two songs that are best representative of the EP's sound are "Mary Jane", which sounds like classic Sublime, and "One-A", which is perfect for a chilled drinks session with your friends, where you just wanna relax and drink a couple of beers before going to the party later on. That's actually the overall mood of the whole album, it makes the listener feel like hanging out with friends some place like Palm Beach, Florida, despite the northern origins of the band.
Other than that, there's not much to say about illScarlett. It's a nice alternative to Sublime, Pepper and the like, but at least based on this EP (they may have developed since), they still have some way to go to catch up. If you're into ska and reggae rock at all, then this one comes with a warm recommendation, but don't go in expecting a classic.
[6½]
Download: One-A, Mary Jane
For the fans of: Pepper, Sublime, The Capital Beat
Listen: Myspace
Release date 31.10.2006
Sony Music
› Related items.
