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Martians See Red is a quartet based out of Atlanta, Georgia who, from the sound of their debut EP, WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST…are not quite ready for prime time but could well be on their way. As with any band relying on the classic lead/rhythm, bass, and drum lineup, they must ultimately rely on their chops and their material. They are missing the mark on one but are close on two.

Chops: Martians See Red are competent, certainly, and otherwise that might be enough. The lead vocals, handled by lead guitarist Kenny, are a bit thin, but his guitar solos are always solid and in spots (“Skeleton”) a bit more than that. The rhythm section --- Justin on rhythm, Gerr on bass, and Troy on drums --- is solid, even on the least of the tracks. The band’s main strength is its strong sense of dynamics which keeps things at least semi-interesting on lesser tracks such as “Watercolor,” which might otherwise be a lost cause.

This brings us to “material,” the second part of the equation. The guys need to hone their songwriting skills. Out of six songs on WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST…there is one standout, “The Drunk’s Awake,” and one fairly interesting track (“Skeleton”). Otherwise, one gets the sense that the boys are trying way too hard to be arty and clever. One of the problems with alternative rock bands in the present century is that they try too hard and succeed too well at deconstructing the basics of a pop song. This works well for some bands --- Metallica, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Helmet, but (and I want to avoid sounding too New Age here) they did what they did and it’s done. On WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST… “The Drunk’s Awake” plays up the band’s strengths and none of its weaknesses, presenting as a straight ahead rock song in alternative trappings. “Skeleton,” a ballad and the final track on WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST, features a riveting guitar solo midway through that is as memorable as anything that had passed in the fifteen minutes or so beforehand.

Martians See Red seems to be growing in popularity in the Atlanta area, and to my ears sound as if they could easily break regionally, or larger, with some fine tuning, particularly in the composing department. At this point, they’re worth checking out, with the understanding that they have some evolving to do.