Red Ribbon
Danger Collective Records
Red Ribbon, the musical project of Emma Danner, releases her self-titled long player, marking her graduation to gut-wrenching authenticity, vulnerability, and the freedom engendered by not holding back emotionally.
“I’ve always censored myself, but on Red Ribbon, I let myself be more free,” Danner says. “This record feels visceral.”
Produced by Rob Schnapf, Red Ribbon is Danner’s first new album since 2021’s Planet X and follows her move from Seattle to Los Angeles. While recording, Danner and her partner broke up, resulting in the album’s opening track, “YSFP” (You’re So Fucking Pretty), a song dipped in raw essence.
Dark and almost portentous, “YSFP” travels on stark, edgy guitars riding crunching percussion as Danner’s vocals imbue the lyrics with intimidating primeval timbres, like Medusa musing over rejection.
“I think that I’m crazy / I think that I’m sad / I think that I’m lazy / I think that I’m bad.”
High points on the album include “My Body Is A Blade,” a mid-tempo alt-rock song with potent, dirty guitars. As the melody sways, Danner’s vocals infuse the lyrics with risky, ominous flavors.
A personal favorite because of its slow, oozing, drifting flow, “Reckless Depressed Like This” merges tints of R&B, soul, and pop into a dripping, rolling melody, at once moodily crucial and reflective, as if searching for something to spark a thrill.
Talking about “Gang Star,” a dreamy-lite alt-rocker, Danner says, “I really wanted to push myself to talk about sex and drugs and things that I have experienced, but always felt I was supposed to be quiet about.”
The floating surfaces of “Jonas,” vaguely reminiscent of Concrete Blonde’s “Joey,” only more low-slung and pensive, evokes both nostalgia, regret, and a sense of unrequited love. The lower register of Danner’s voice gives the lyrics a sad, tenuous quality, disturbed by their conviction.
A gem of a song, and one of the best tracks on the album, “Crying In My Car” undulates on mesmerizing textures topped by Danner’s evocative vocals, simultaneously a bit blue and voluptuously beckoning.
According to Danner, “On that song, I’m really, really sad, yet want to make out in the backseat.”
Benefitting from Red Ribbon’s newfound emotional openness, Red Ribbon offers listeners cathartic, wonderfully structured soundscapes.
