Redlands have been one of our favorite bands for quite a while now and it’s only natural that we’re always eager to hear what they create. It’s been a bit more than a year since the release of their previous material, Adventurer, but today we’re super excited to share with you the news about their new record.
Is There Anybody Out There is the band’s third studio release. Lead singer, Ben Lohle, shares how important it is to have an album released independently, which is no easy task to do.
| “What’s cool about this record is we did it completely ourselves. Writing in the mountains. Recording in a basement or a living room. It’s something that is entirely US. And that’s not something you see very often. But with the talent we have in this group, we’ve been able to achieve something very genuine that we can all be proud of.”
One thing I love the most about this record is how different it is from their previous ones. It only shows how the band has been growing; it shows their human side – the one that feels it all in order to somehow put it down in words and portray that life is not always bright, nice and pink-coloured, and that’s absolutely okay. When asked to explain the sentiment behind the album, Lohle states:
| “This record tends to be much gloomier than our last records. At first we were a little hesitant to release a collection of darker songs, but you know everybody hurts sometimes and life isn’t always love songs and happy feelings. These songs really made us feel and we knew people would connect to them. It’s okay to cry because we all hurt sometimes. At the end of the day we’re only human and if we can create songs that resonate with people then we’ve done our job.”
The opening track “Anybody” sets the tone on the record with such strong powerful lyrics like, “Sometimes it doesn’t make sense, sometimes you wish it’s in your head,” and the main chorus line, “Is there anybody out there, is there anybody listening?” the band captures that feeling of desperation. “Nothing At All” makes up for a more radio-friendly tune while “Love Is Hell” is by far the heaviest track on the record. “Spaces” and “Drifter” are two of the stand out tracks on this EP for me, the latter opening the path to a more softly paced tune, “Wish It Was You” where Lohle’s vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar are more than enough to give this record a perfect closure.
From the very first day we stumbled upon Redlands’ music, we’ve been supportive of their work. This new record is a huge step in the band’s history, because being an independent artist is no easy task to fulfill, luckily these guys have been doing an amazing job. Is There Anybody Out There? is a nice, friendly reminder that it’s okay to feel low and broken at times and that we’re not alone in this.
Listen to Is There Anybody Out There? below:
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Is There Anybody Out There? is now available here.
