Red Top Road pave the way with slacker emo in the vein of the Get Up Kids with a touch of the Juliana Theory. Heart warming melodies collide with a working class 20 something flair that is smoothed over with a tinge of punk and beaten down emotion.

Vocally some interesting harmonies are used with a mid to high range that wavers ever so slightly as each verse is spoken within a structure similar to most emo acts, while a constant battering of fuzzy guitar work steadily tumbles forward underneath, prodding the songs onward. Accentuated by a chimes in the wind like ambiance, the guitar work is relaxing at times and empowering at others, yet always focused on melody and keeping the momentum charged. Meanwhile the rhythm section also adheres to this formula, rarely allowing a few moments for things to slow down to the lull of a thundering drum roll or a play on dynamic harmonics, which in the end can actually breakup the monotony of some of the more uninspiring tracks include here.

Being a band in the emo vein of music is not an easy task as there isn't a lot of direction in which you can progress, but Red Top Road make the best of it and humbly trek forward, slowly pushing themselves out to new found areas and constantly experimenting with dynamics and unexpected structure changes. As such, the music works, but doesn't necessarily rise to something as thought provoking and inspiring as say Sense Field, but in the end still serves its purpose and gets the job done just like a true firefighter should.
(3 / 5)