Red Ribbon 'Planet X'

 

New album by multi-instrumentalist Red Ribbon released by Danger Collective

Singer-songwriter Emma Danner has navigated the difficulty of leaving a bustling up and coming band and sailing alone to produce her second album under the moniker of Red Ribbon in the release of Planet X.

Working with Randall Dunn (renowned for his collaborations with Sunn O))), he has pushed Danner to create a piece of work that is both full of personal discovery away from the comfort zone of keys and electronica.

Starting with the inward looking 'The Weight of Man', Red Ribbon is talking about her place in the world that has gone through a seismic change in the last 18 months owing to the global pandemic - melodic and full of internality; the music grows into the second track 'Way' which is full of swooning ooh's and aah's. There is no mistaking the vision on display here by Danner who creates a foreboding atmosphere with her meditative lyrics.

Embracing a plethora of musical influences ranging from folk and Laurel Canyon to the songstresses of Billie Holiday, Red Ribbon is a vehicle for Danner to embrace a sonic change in her experimentation and the end result allows her to be spoken of in the same breathe as her contemporaries Laura Marling, Margaret Glaspy and Anna Burch.

Hailing from Seattle but residing in Los Angeles; there is this collision of those two different American worlds the influence of nature upon any settler in North West America as well as the enigmatic glamour of Los Angeles - two psyches collide here in this album. In the case of the title track, 'Planet X' is a response to the forest fires that ripped apart California (not for the first time) in November 2018 so this clash of the personal with something you cannot control shows the fragility of the individual in this big world.

Full of the joys and tragedies which life can throw at you in this brittle and fragile world, Planet X is a treasure trove of transformation for both the artist and the listener. The external forces are there to be utilised and is ripe for inspiration for an artist.

From the strings of 'Hold' to the anxiety on display in 'Renegade' there is a real sense of personal in this album that is full of personality.  If this can be done in solo isolation, the future bodes well once the gates of collaboration open up again.

Planet X is out from Danger Collective Records on 11th June

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.