Flac Naive

The Liverpool duo Red Flag (brothers Chris and Mark Reynolds) released their debut album, Naïve Art, in 1989. Red Flag, like other late-'80s/early-'90s bands such as Camouflage and Cause & Effect, offer a similar mix of gloomy, synthesizer-driven dance-pop made popular by synth rock kings Depeche Mode. Derivative yet melodic, Naïve Art is a decent debut, though it eventually runs out of steam. Red Flag's obvious debt to Depeche Mode is immediately apparent in the minor club hits "If I Ever" and "Russian Radio." Though the production is a bit rough around the edges, the combination of cold synth beats and the emotionless vocal approach (similar to Depeche's Martin Gore) makes perfect dancefloor fodder for the disaffected goth pop club crowd. Like Depeche Mode's best work, what makes Naïve Art bearable is Red Flag's obvious gift of songcraft. Both "If I Ever" and "Russian Radio" are comparable to some of Depeche's best work, and although much of Naïve Art sounds the same after a while, the album flows along quite nicely. Those who criticize Depeche Mode for being pretentious and "wimpy" certainly won't find any redeeming qualities in Red Flag, but Naïve Art should satisfy fans of the genre. Recommended.

Naïve Art is the debut album by San Diego (by way of Liverpool) synth-pop duo Red Flag, consisting of brothers Chris and Mark Reynolds. This is the 30th Anniversary reissue of the CD which has not been available since 2001. It contains all original versions from the initial release in 1989 along with 18 additional bonus tracks. This reissue is far different from the 2001 Restless reissue which was only one CD and the songs were severely edited and over compressed. This has been remedied for this new re-release. The second disc also contains many of the remixes that were released separately on Naive Dance compilation in 1990. It also contains some very hard to find remixes of Russian Radio, Broken Heart and an early track called Control, which sounds amazing.

At first impression, post-bop pianist/composer Baptiste Trotignon looks like a newcomer to the jazz scene, though he has recorded a number of CD since the mid-'90s as a leader on the Naive label. He will likely benefit from the wider distribution of his Sunnyside debut, which features Trotignon playing 11 originals with various lineups. A gifted pianist who shows lots of promise, Trotignon's works hold up well to repeated hearings, engaging his rhythm section and telling a story in the process, highlighted by the catchy "Mon Ange," and the wild uptempo blues "Red Light District."