A review of Red Ronson at Seedling Stage, Belladrum, 2nd of August, 2013.
Another Bella debutant, the initial impression of Red Ronson is of a band with an inclination to the whimsy, yet scratch the surface and take a closer listen to the lyrics and you’ll quickly realise there’s more to them than that. ‘Supercute’ starts nicely enough but the lyrics quickly turn from ‘ you’re so cute’ to allege that the object of his affection dyes her hair and is for want of a better word, easy.
‘Fallback’ includes the lyrics ‘you’re so cute, like a care bear on pills’. The songs might sound saccharine sweet but they have a fair dose of acerbic wit to keep things interesting.
The songs themselves are simply arranged with no real frills, but the strength of songwriting includes some properly catchy hooks – I defy you to not sing along to the refrain ‘we’re not fucking about’ on their latest single ‘Paper Statues’. This song in particular led to a mass sing-along encouraged by the band. Lead singer Andrew Barnett attempted to temper the lyrics in deference to the kids in the audience but this was quickly vetoed by bassist Dave Ramsay who shouted the ‘fuck’ with abandon!
You can see the last time we spoke to Red Ronson, just before Easter.
Please sign up to our mailing list so not to miss our future Bella 2013 coverage. Please check out our Folk at Belladrum pictures on Facebook, and all of our other Belladrum content.
Photos by Roddy McKenzie
