This is now the third year in a row that an album by The Reds, Pinks & Purples has appeared amongst my top ten favourite albums for the year*. And had it not been released so late in the year, their 2020 mini-album, “You might be happy someday”, might have made it four in a row. But that’s not even telling the full story of all the music that Glenn Donaldson has released under this moniker since 2018. To my count, and I’ve probably missed a few, there have been no less than seven albums (plus the aforementioned mini-album), seven EPs, and a handful of singles. And every single bit that I’ve heard has been exceptional. I can’t even remember the last time I had fallen for an artist so quickly that has been so prolific and so consistent. I wholeheartedly admit that I am having a hard time keeping up.
Glenn Donaldson has been making music in around and the San Francisco area for over two decades in various musical projects. He first used the name The Reds, Pinks & Purples for one song on a split 7” single back in 2015 but the project didn’t really get off the ground until three years later and it’s been gangbusters ever since. Donaldson records and performs most of the parts of every song himself, often at home, and sometimes in his kitchen, not that you would know it by how great the records sound.
Much has been made about how this this fifth record, “The town that cursed your name”, is noisier, fuzzier, and punkier than its predecessors, invoking names like The Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. To that point, I can definitely see that parts of it feels a bit more upbeat, but on others, not so much, and the album definitely hasn’t fully departed from the territory of 80s jangle pop that had me hooked me from the start. It is peppy and reverb-drenched and with the exception of one, the twelve tracks all come in around the 2-3 minute mark and the total run time clocks in at just under 34 minutes. Throughout, Donaldson plaintively and romantically sings about the lives and loves of being a struggling musician in San Francisco and in the process, draws us all into his world with his melodic hooks and wistful turn of phrase.
Each song here is worth spending time with and unpacking for closer inspection but my three picks for you could be a great place to start. Have a listen.
“Mistakes (too many to name)“: Track eight is full of guitars so fuzzy that it’s hard to untangle the melody. If it weren’t for the steady and staccato beating up of a tambourine, it would all be one beautiful blob of sound. And then there’s Donaldson channelling Morrissey at his self-deprecating best. “I’ve made every mistake one person can make. How can one person make too many to name?” It’s all about being a nostalgic about a time before all those mistakes, when life was an open field of flowers that one could drown in. And after its two and three quarter minutes, you come up for air and just want to restart and dive deeper for more.
“The town that cursed your name”: The title track is really a thesis and call to arms for the album, ten songs in. One fifth of its two and half minute duration is dedicated to a subtle intro, starting with a quick step drum line and then a pair of guitars takes over, a steady acoustic strum rhythm and a chiming pickup electric. They’re joined by some haunting synths, some fuzz between the verses, and some funky drum flourishes for punctuation. And our protagonist is waxing existential and weaving a tale of musicianship woes, making for a verse worth repeating and singing along to. “It’s a shame your record label failed, too many problems with the mail, to be poor but still overpaid, in the town that cursed your name, and the apartment where you stayed was a living hell.”
“Too late for an early grave”: The opening number paints a miserable picture of the humdrum of working life, punching the clock and knowing that you can be discarded at a moment’s notice, if you slip, fall ill, don’t produce enough widgets. Donaldson cross-references this with the struggles of a musician, the thankless continued work at creation without success. “From the cradle to the grave, we all caved, no one was saved.” It’s a damned good thing he tempers this depressing hopelessness with such peppy and cheerful music. Jangly and full of soul, thumping rhythm and hopeful highs. He is playful and knowing and you feel alive wrapping yourself in this bit of pastel sunlight. But much like everything here on the album, it is but a snapshot, ending too quickly. Mercifully, we have the technology to listen again and thankfully, we know The Reds, Pinks & Purples will be back soon with more great tunes.
*”Summer at land’s end” was at number seven last year and “Uncommon weather” was my favourite album in 2021.
We’ll be back in a few days with album #3. In the meantime, here are the previous albums in this list:
10. Bodywash “I held the shape while I could”
9. Boygenius “The record”
8. Depeche Mode “Memento mori”
7. The Clientele “I am not there anymore”
6. Eyelids “A colossal waste of light”
5. Pale Blue Eyes “This house”
You can also check out my Best Albums page here if you’re interested in my other favourite albums lists.
My (life in) music lists 