Review Summary: A band that’s hard to find, but one you should check out.
This band has some serious talent when it comes to groovy beats and melodic tone. It’s a wonder why they aren’t as big as other mainstream bands such as Hinder, or Breaking Benjamin (Not that The Colour has a similar sound to those bands; I am simply naming some popular “Radio-Bands”.). In fact, this band has had only one song on the radio, and that was “Devil’s Got a Holda Me”. The song was played out, and taken off, not to be replaced by another hit. This band deserves more popularity. Granted, they do not have amazing vocals, and their lyrics could use some work, but their songs are great to sing along to, and just move to.
“Can’t You Hear it Call” is a great intro song. It really gets you tapping your feet, and bobbin your head without even realizing it. It has a great guitar riff throughout most of the song, followed up by some hidden, yet indispensable piano and tambourine. There is also a decent guitar solo nearing the end that you just do not expect from this band. Although this song may be deemed repetitive, it is still worth a listen.
4/5
“Devil’s Got a Holda Me” is The Colour’s big hit single. While carrying a similar tone as “Can’t You Hear it Call”, this song seems to get people moving even more. It truly keeps the hype and the mood up. However, I have to say that the vocals in this song seem to lack something, some special quality. It reminds me of a young, more dull Jack White. His sound in this track is almost as if he doesn’t care to be there, but still puts a slight passion behind it. Luckily, the chorus involves the rest of the band, and seems to work. Another thing that saves the song is the guitar. It definitely makes up for the poor vocals. Again, there another great riff. The bass is also much more noticeable. This song deserved to be on the radio.
4/5
“Save Yourself” has a different tone than that of the other tracks. It is The Colour’s try at a ballad. The song starts off well with some good guitar, then just goes downhill from there. The chorus is too soft, and kills the mood. Ballads aren’t supposed to KILL the mood, they are supposed to bring it down, but keep you listening. In addition, the guitar riff comes back in again after the chorus. These chords are not ones to be used in a ballad. It is understandable to use it in the beginning for a hook from the previous upbeat mood to a ballad, but that’s it. They probably just thought that since it was good, use it more than once, but it simply does not work that way.
2.5/5
“Silver Meadows” is a lot like the previous track; another attempt at a ballad. Let’s face it, the singer doesn’t have the voice for a ballad. It reminds me of Buckcherry’s ballad, “Sorry”. The only thing that works for this song is the piano. The piano is pretty good, and is good support for this song, but doesn’t save it.
2.5/5
“Our Children Were the Stars” is a vital track to Between Earth & Sky. This song brings back the mood that was lost due to tracks 3 and 4. It starts off with hardly no sound, only feedback. I love this effect. It’s a genius way to bring back an upbeat mood. The only problem with this is that it is used a lot by other bands. That aside, this track is great. The drummer keeps a great beat, while the bassist performs well. Then the guitarist comes in with a very clean, almost piano-like sound. Hearing this song will remind you that the vocalist does fit well with this band. He’s no Freddie Mercury, but he is fun to hear.
4.5/5
“Black Summer” is a track that would have deserved to be on the radio, along with “Devil’s Got a Holda Me”. “Black Summer” starts off with some surprising drumming. It reminds me of the intro to The Fratellis’, “Creeping up the Backstairs”. Soon the guitar enters with some powerful chords, combined with some great bass. After that, the guitar fades out to leave the drums and bass combine to a great sound. The only thing that prevents this song from reaching a 5/5 is the vocals. He tends to drag out his notes. It is as if he tried to sound like Thom Yorke (Radiohead) but he does not succeed.
4/5
“Just a Taste” is one of the few songs on this album that uses the bass as support rather than guitar. This would have worked, but there is also a “rude” use of the organ. It seems to bud in when it shouldn’t. It just ruins the melody. This song would be extraordinarily better without it. Granted, it would lose its originality, but it would save this track.
2.5/5
“You’re a Treasure” is one of the upbeat, fun songs that make you want to move. The drums are faded, but still very noticeable and important. It’s also another song that has the guitar so clean, that it almost sounds like piano. The vocals in this song are surprisingly likable. He puts passion and enthusiasm behind his words this time. That helps greatly to keep the upbeat mood going. One of Between Earth & Sky’s biggest problems is the lack of great lyrics. This song is probably the most well written track on the album. However, after the heartfelt lyrics, the words, “Oh yeah, you’re a treasure. You’ll keep in my pocket forever!” are stated far too much. The song should not be labeled repetitive, but the ending could be better.
4/5
“Kill the Lights” is the most repetitive song on the album. “You’re a Treasure” didn’t repeat till the end, but this one should be classified REPETITIVE. Not only does it repeat “Kill the Lights” throughout most of the song, but other parts of the song repeat different things. The vocalist sings repeatedly things like “Give me a chance…” and “You come on over…”. This track is the only one on the album that is truly difficult to listen to more than once.
1.5/5
“Salt the Earth” has the fastest beat on the album. The vocals have a lot of power behind them as well. It really makes the song deliver more hype. This is one of those rare songs that make you ignore the lyrics, and let you just lose yourself in the music. However, the placement of this song seems to be poor. It would probably make the album more enjoyable if it were placed before “Save Yourself”. Maybe make “Devil’s Got a Holda Me” towards the end (to keep the album stable). The upbeat tone in the beginning would have been a lot stronger, resulting in a more hype intro. Nevertheless, this song is one of the key tracks that keep this album alive.
4/5
“Bearded Lady” is one track that stands out. Another track that has different vocals from The Colour’s previous songs. The vocals sound almost like Brandon Flowers (The Killers). Also like The Killers, the rest of the band chimes in with powerful vocals. This technique keeps the song different from the others, and still enjoyable. One thing that stood out in a poor fashion was the drummer’s use of the symbols. He simply bangs on them too much. They probably did this to keep the momentum going throughout the song, but it doesn’t work. It almost takes out the whole mood. Besides, he wouldn’t need to do that, considering the backup vocals keep this song dense. Without the backup vocals, this song would crumble.
3.5/5
“Dirge to Earth & Sky” is another song with bad placement. The Colour should have been finished this album with something hype. It is possible that this band confused hype with catchy. Most of the catchy songs have too much symbol crashing to enjoy it to its full extent. Excessive symbol crashing should happen only in a hype or hardcore song. The only part of this song that proves it is worthy to be ending track is the last minute of the song. It is faded out longer than normal. Most songs take up to 10 seconds to fade out, while “Dirge to Earth & Sky” takes around 30-45 seconds. It is amazing that this song does that without becoming dull.
3/5
Despite some bad things that have been said about this album, it is solid, and enjoyable to listen to. A tip to be told is to not listen to it repetitively. This album doesn’t stand the test of time as well as others, but it succeeds to make people move.
This album is more of a downloader than a buyer, but The Colour is definitely a band worth checking out.
Recommended Tracks:
Can’t You Hear it Call
Devil’s Got a Holda Me
Our Children Were the Stars
Black Summer
You’re a Treasure
Salt the Earth
