EXCLUSIVE: Red Vanilla "Where Should I Be?" EP First Look
- Kay Joseph
- Dec 15, 2025
- 5 min read
Kay Joseph | December 2025
From the sunniest city in Scotland, Red Vanilla took the stage in our latest interview. With their upcoming EP “Where Should I Be?” around the corner, BRUIT. got a chance to take an exclusive early look, and it did not disappoint.
Red Vanilla is an alt-rock band from Dundee, Scotland. It was founded by Forfar frontwoman Anna Forsyth and lead guitarist George Weller, who is from Elgin. They are joined by Dundee drummer Lucas Mander. All in their late teens, they decided to quit university and chase the dream: make music and make it big.
Inspired by 90s alt-rockers like Nirvana and Foo Fighters, as well as bands like Wolf Alice and Paramore, Anna often writes about the struggle to break away from career conformity and trying to focus on what she actually cares about. All members work jobs in hospitality or retail, as these are the roles that offer the flexibility needed to make gigs a priority. Their most recent one was in their hometown of Dundee, on December 12, which marked their last show of the year.
With their new EP released track after track before being fully launched, Red Vanilla further establishes their sonic landscape as an alt-rock, grunge band. Up until now, they had already revealed three songs: “Hazy,” “Oh No, I Got Older,” and “Electric Blue.”
Track 1 – Electric Blue
“Electric Blue” has been in the works ever since the band was formed and you can tell that it went through a lot of stages before it became the masterpiece that it is. It’s an incredible opener for the EP and pulled me in immediately.
What I like so much about the track is the ethereal, nostalgic-sounding instrumentals at the start and the build-up all the way to the middle of the song. The atmosphere shifts to the grunge rock that we are used to hearing from the band and it is executed so perfectly that I had to give it a big shoutout. The track ends with the same instrumentals as at the start, which rounds up the song beautifully.
Track 2 – Hazy
“Hazy” is a part of the tracks that have been released already. It comes in with roaring guitars, much different compared to the previous track, but the intention is the same: a two-and-a-half-minute song to rock out to.
The track is about overthinking, which reflects well in lyrics such as “I think I’ve gone and overdone it this time” in the first verse and “I only suffer from the feelings I create / So right now I’ve only myself to blame.” The choruses are also a perfect representation of what it feels like to overthink: “Caught in the act and consciously delusional / The feeling’s made a hole in my brain” and “Selling myself, it’s a form of self-reflection / Just to try and take away from the pain.”
What I love about the choruses is that they have different lyrics, but drive the point home equally strongly. It’s incredible songwriting on Anna’s part!
Her vocals overall are incredible and she has a very clean and distinctive sound, but there’s something in “Hazy” that makes them stand out even more.
Track 3 – Ask Her If She’s Happy
I especially like the bass and guitar riffs in this song and it reminds me of the early '00s alt-rock scene. The instrumentals on this song are overall very appealing and remind me of Wolf Alice a little.
Anna delivers an emotional performance on a song that has incredible lyrics. The one that stands out the most to me is “Ask her if she’s happy being alive,” which I think drives the point of the song home perfectly.
Track 4 – Play Me Something New
The electronic influences on this song give a new swing to the sound of this EP. It is one of the slower songs and shows a more vulnerable side – a breather from the first three tracks and perfectly placed at number four in the EP.
“Play Me Something New” has a nostalgic ring to it and it diverts from the usual topics that Anna talks about in their songs.
The lyrics dive very deeply into what seems to encapsulate a more personal relationship: “Well you can dress up a lie by just not voicing the truth / Please don’t play dumb to what you’re putting me through / God knows I’m scared of losing you for good / Promise you’ll come back like you told me you would / ‘Cause you told me you would.”
The song is very well made and the production is incredible!
Track 5 – I Thought I Had It
Probably the roughest track on the record, this is another three-plus-minute song to rock out to. I like how they incorporated the increase and decrease of instrumentals throughout the verses and pre-choruses and go all out in the chorus.
What I love the most is the drums – they are incredibly well-played by Lucas, and their execution really elevates the song.
Even though I like Anna’s vocals on the track, it is the instrumentals that make me keep coming back to the song.
Track 6 – Sunkissed Pools
As the only fully acoustic song on this EP, “Sunkissed Pools” truly holds its own amongst the rough players in the field – and this is beautifully done with simply a guitar and synths. Although personally, I am not the biggest fan of slower ballads, Red Vanilla executed this one superbly.
Anna’s voice is a lot softer and deeper, which fits the aesthetic of “Sunkissed Pools” incredibly well. She’s in a higher range on the rock songs, but she truly shows off her range in the beginning of this track, where her deep notes make her voice incredibly warm and calming to listen to.
Track 7 – Oh No, I Got Older
Finishing the EP with a banger, “Oh No, I Got Older” rages against the ticking clock of getting older with beauty and grace. This is definitely not the edgiest song on the tracklist, but it fits into the EP like a missing puzzle piece.
It takes the sharp edge of the '90s rock again, but wraps it up in a sleek modern bow. This is one of the songs that has that classic Red Vanilla tune to it and that makes all the hard work they’d been putting in over the years worth it.
They are truly a band to look out for and they proved it with this record yet again. We’re excited for what’s to come!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Follow Red Vanilla on Instagram here!
Listen to their newest song, “Electric Blue,” here!
Watch the interview on BRUITMag.’s YouTube channel here!
