Grade: D+

Red Wanting Blue’s sixth album, “Pride: The Cold Lover,” showcases their musical ability, but fails to deliver any appealing songs.

The opening song of the album, “Leaving Behind,” is a dull song that feels formulaic and average. Much of the album feels like it’s already been made by hundreds of other bands.

Rock and Roll is supposed to be inventive and fresh.

The members of Red Wanting Blue are talented and sound fine, but “Pride: The Cold Lover” is boring and unimaginative. All good rock bands should have an angle on the genre that makes them unique, but Red Wanting Blue fails to stand out.

From the exposure they gained on tour with bands like O.A.R, and from garnering a lot of attention in the Midwest, Red Wanting Blue continues to have an ever-growing fan base. They originally gained a following in Athens, Ohio, their hometown.

The band formed in 1996, and their first album, “Velveteen,” was independently released in 1998. Their next four albums, “The Image Trigger,” “Model Citizen,” “Sirens” and “Souvenirs of City Life,” were released in 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2003 respectively.

Although gifted musicians they might be, their music is the sort of bland, generic rock that fails to be original and interesting. The songs fail to communicate any sort of creativity.

The best bands know that originality is the answer. Unoriginal and mediocre are the best words to describe Red Wanting Blue. The musical talent is there, but they lack the ability to craft interesting songs.

– Mike Robinson

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