Rat Wakes Red Album, "Dizzy on Daddy", mixes acoustic guitar, chamber strings, and trippy vocals that texture between S&G and avante garde. The band is comprised of composer, James Raftery on everything but viola, which is brandished by Jeral Benjamin. The focus is on songwriting - and Raftery accomplishes that rare combination of pop accessibility while forging an artistic direction that although is influenced has its own home within to reside. We hear Farrel and the aforementioned S&G, however this projects is mostly a solo performed project. Raftery focuses on vocal production in tracks like "Ecstasy" and "Gold", the latter having a guitar that is dark and open. The guitar is clearly the foundation of all the songs and Raftery paints over the guitar with strings, occasional percussion, and various complementary parts. The approach to vocals is dramatic and thick with lyrical content. RWR approaches stage tunes in "Widows Burn". The vocals wind through with intervals that hit 5ths, 3rds, and ultimately end with support from an almost Gregorian chant group and a beautifully organic chamber string section. Nice. "Higher Places" is a touching piece of longing for home or what the artist ponders is home. He write, 'why did I leave Los Angeles, Dad?. . I've forgotten everything but where my place is. .why this bliss, made my way home.' Raftery's phrasing has balance but his lyrics are the main point here - the ultimate communication of the tunes. And with that, he paints words skillfully and assigns melody to them as an important 2nd step. The CD mostly follows the acoustic/string format with a couple of exceptions, most notably the analog sawtooth key support in "Silverfish". The final track, "Overflow", (there is a bonus track afterwards in mono and AM-radio quality), is the most personal on the album describing fear as directly as we've heard - and not a track too late. RWR opens with words, 'my father's dead did that just go through my head, my sister's showing me another side of her, mother's gone into toxic shock. .so this is dread, can i have something else instead'. The dimensional quality of the album is directed by the single fact that one person performed and made the record. It is a solo artistic accomplishment for the artist and we look forward to more.