Roses are Red seems like one of the more melodical acts on the Trustkill label, which is a definite positive for someone so unsure of how deep into this hardcore pool she should dip her little toe. More punk than the rest of Trustkill’s releases, Roses are Red are a band I can easily equate with folks like AFI, Yellowcard and Funeral for a Friend: melodic and harmonious vocals are applied to energetic and drum/powerchord-driven instrumentals. Vocals and instrumentals aside, their Alexisonfire-like lyrical stylings, both in content and delivery, left me pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed to be listening to “just another punky hardcore act.” My only hesitation in my praise of this album would be that these guys may be having their own set of “13 Conversations about One Thing” and may need to look to subjects other than “love and all its many forms” for their lyrical inspiration. To call them emocore seems so degrading (we all know my feelings on emo’s bad rap these days), yet they seem to fit well into that category. I’m not afraid to admit, however, that sometimes, just sometimes, someone needs more than just a good cry. A good scream can help too!