Local 913, Episode 88: The Red Western
For the last few weeks of 2016, we’re revisiting WYEP’s Top 5 local releases of the year. This week we focus on #4 from The Red Western, who released two EPs simultaneously this year: Arrows and Sirens.
After their debut in 2011, The Red Western return in 2016 with one less band member, a new sound and two brand new EPs: Arrows and Sirens. After their guitarist and songwriter Sean Soisson left for school in Utah in 2013, the band decided to not replace him and perform as a quartet. This forced the group to re-think the way they play their already recorded material and how to approach writing new music. Their results are a new, almost cinematic sound on the new Eps.
“Our guitar player (Jon Gunnell) wrote a decent amount of the songs. Stylistically, his song differed quite a bit from what the group had written. It felt more natural to split the EPs up, but we really liked all the songs. We decided that instead of smashing them onto one release, we would just do two,” says Red Western vocalist Lauren Delorenze.
This time around, the band took risks while writing and recording in order to get out of their comfort zone. Songwriting duties are shared amongst the members, marking it the first time the band recorded songs written by Delorenze. She attributes her day job at Phipps in assisting her songwriting:
“I just love being outdoors. I have the luxury of working in a beautiful space. It’s very green and I’m around plants all the time. I think that helps me feel a little meditative when I write. Somethings will be popping into my head as I’m working throughout the day and that’s just from the environment I’m in.”
Leading off the first EP, the song Arrow was written by guitarist Jon Gunnell. Delorenze says of learning the song:
“From us learning the song, it’s a very technical song and it took us a little while to kind of feel comfortable and get into a groove. We could all play it, but it just was one of those things where it didn’t sound natural right away. Then once we all started falling into place it started sounding really good.”
For more on The Red Western, check out their website.
