After retiring way back in 2002,
Red Snapper continued releasing product -- collections, remix albums, stray tracks here and there -- but only returned five years later with a six-track album that shows them quite invigorated. Sounding positively light and bouncy, the opener "Brickred" points beyond the
Red Snapper of the past (i.e. innovative but a little self-serious). Moving from joyful to jazzy to heavy on the first three tracks, the group sound like they've been stockpiling ideas during their time away, although each member of the core trio had at least one project keeping him busy. That core lineup -- bassist Ali Friend, drummer
Richard Thair, and guitarist David Ayers -- is rounded out by someone with the dubious moniker of Tom Challenger on reeds and melodica, and it's his saxophone that makes the most difference to
Red Snapper here. Often sounding like the soundtrack to an urban detective story -- and yes, there is some BBC soundtrack work in Ayers' recent past --
Pale Blue Dot is a distinctive record, with six tracks to fit at least six different moods. ~ John Bush