Colourful Grey have describe themselves as “up tempo pop punk, melancholic emo passion and post hardcore grind”; a statement which is, on balance, two thirds accurate. Quite where the post hardcore nature of this record is supposed to emanate from I’m not sure, as I don’t think the ‘dirty guitars’ at the start of track 8 ‘A Long Time Short’ really count, but there are nods towards big names such as Jimmy Eat World, Circa Survive (except the vocals) and a whole collective of atmospheric indie/post-rock bands – the influences of the latter quickly becoming dominant after the first 3 tracks which certainly follow a poppier vibe. The shift of styles is also mirrored by an improvement in the vocals even if this is at the expense of their relative distinctiveness, until the record itself takes a massive turn for the worst in the last two songs which I can only fairly describe as ‘pap’.
I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I must have sneezed 20 times in the last hour, or whether the it’s the music, but there’s a general feeling of ‘floatiness’ which I really can’t quite convey to you; a sort of combination of underpowered vocals, piano backing and soaring guitars, which is great until you realize you’re basing an entire 11 track CD from that one gimmick and you’re longing for something else. If they were a cheese they’d be a mild cheddar – inoffensive, unlikely to excite but relatively standard fare to accompany something else. I’m also well aware that’s the second time in three reviews I’ve used a cheese analogy before some smart arse pulls that one out of the bag.
To successfully take themselves beyond their (largely) German listeners, Colourful Grey may need to add the bounce of their indie contemporaries and develop a consistent vocal style that complements all of their instrumental work, as opposed to just some of it. It’s not a bad CD, but it isn’t great and it’s perhaps best left to genre fans for now.
www.colourfulgrey.de
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