THE SCARLET ENDING
The Scarlet Ending offers a blend of pop with cabaret, and the grit of dive bar rock with the charms of three part harmony. This unique personality comes through in the angelic yet unforgiving voices of twin sisters Kaleena and Kayleigh Goldsworthy. These two command the stage while playing piano and guitar respectively, in addition to violin, melodica, and a pawn shop of other instruments (accordion, penny whistle, ukulele, theremin). The theatricality of the girls is supported with a backbone of innovative musicians. Guitarist Jon Tedd and cellist Jess Hafner complement the layers of sound while bassist Aaron Garritillo and drummer Nicholas Streeter syncopate and carry each song to their full potential.
Making music together for over 12 years, the 6-piece band fronted by Kayleigh & Kaleena meld intricate harmonies, classically-trained musicianship with hard rock energy, inspiration from old dimestore horror movies & radio shows, and masterful songwriting, to create a dark & hauntingly beautiful sound, described as ‘glamorous, drama-filled pop’, a ‘sexy cabaret’ at times, ‘pop with an underlying darkness and angst’. ‘Picture Fiona Apple, Tegan and Sara, and Jimmy Eat World in a blender, served in a pretty glass by the pool.’ ‘Hypnotically haunting the space between The Dresden Dolls’ vaudevillian punk and Danny Elfman’s twisted take on classical, yet deeper.’
Consistent with the dramatic style of their music, The Scarlet Ending are fantastic live performers. With musical skill and talent beyond their years, and an immense range of sounds and instruments to choose from on stage, they put on an incredible live show full of energy, intensity, and charisma, something that is very important to them and not taken for granted. “People pay to be entertained, and we want to offer that escape, and take them to a different place for a little while” says Kayleigh. Their shows can have a sideshow, circus-cabaret-like vibe to them, where it’s more than just seeing a band on stage and listening to music for the audience. “We make our merch setup even look like an old school carnival event. We want to make it into a show again and have people know us for our show. Our music lends itself to that.”
Not afraid to let their emotions show, The Scarlet Ending’s songs are very accessible in a pop sense, but there’s much more behind the surface. It’s this ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ approach to songwriting that sets the band apart, “taking something normal and sugarcoated and making it a little more messed-up” as Kayleigh describes. Darker themes pervade, but not merely for effect – their songs are deeper, and touch on experiences that everyone goes through – from romances gone wrong, to personal struggle, vulnerability, paranoia, victim/bully relationships, and the battle of right and wrong.
The Scarlet Ending has received recognition both home and abroad, beginning with their debut EP which earned them a Syracuse Area Music Award for Best Pop Record of 2005. Their follow up full-length, Cries and Whispers, saw the release of “The Way We Used To Be” which received a slew of placements, being featured on MTV’s The Hills, as well as “Making The Band 4“, “Teen Mom 2“, “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew“, and also WB’s “Roswell“. “Winter” from that album also appeared on VH1’s “Tool Academy“.
Their sophomore full-length album Ghosts was released in 2010, and the making of that album was featured in a 14-part online reality show The Scarlet Ending Tapes by The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com.
2012 saw the release of the six-song EP The Things You Used To Own, a culmination of sorts for the band and the life changes and experiences they’ve gone through together. With signature elements of The Scarlet Ending sound: hauntingly beautiful & assertive vocals and harmonies, discordant hard rock riffs alongside classical & cabaret melodies, thundering percussion, and fantastic production and songwriting, it is a magnum opus for The Scarlet Ending and their 12 years of incredibly original music-making.
videos:
“My War”
“The Things You Used To Own” (documentary trailer)
“Epiphany”
“Phoenix”
