To tell the truth, I have no memory of Scarlet Fantastic but the label Last Night From Glasgow has made something of a habit of rejuvenating interest in bands from back in the day and, duly and verily, Scarlet Fantastic – or at least the Maggie K De Monde component anyway – have returned with a new album “From Montreal to Rotherham.”
Perhaps unexpectedly, “From Montreal to Rotherham” doesn’t sound like an album resurrecting the eighties. There always was a degree of determined artistic intention in much of the music from that particular era and, although the sound of music from that time period will not be found here in abundance, there is still plenty of evidence that the art is still strong in Maggie K De Monde. Lyrically speaking, these ten songs come from the heart, if not one of a poet, with a certain emotional catharsis replacing the need for the metaphorical. That said, this is one of those albums that seems to improve as you make your way through the songs with the later songs being infused with a rather pleasing degree of stylised theatricality almost as if to announce the impending arrival of a stage hosted dramatic equivalent.
As I am prone to repeating, you can’t keep talent down even with the passing of a substantial amount of time, and Maggie K De Monde does a decent job of keeping the Scarlet Fantastic name alive in the ears of those who would remember their name.