The Colour
Between Earth & Sky

(ReThink)

First Appeared in The Music Box, January 2007, Volume 14, #1

Written by John Metzger

Over the course of two EPs, The Colour has been searching for the right sonic architecture for its songs. Its debut EP The Colour Are Out & About was steeped in the synthetic sounds of new wave, and the anguished wail provided by front man Wyatt Hull closely resembled the cries of The Cure’s Robert Smith. On its follow-up set Devil’s Got a Holda Me, the Orange County-based quintet had shifted gears and moved backward in time to embrace the blues-and-rock constructs of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. Not surprisingly, The Colour’s latest effort Between Earth & Sky attempts to find the common ground between its previous forays. The problem, however, is that the group is so blatant about nicking ideas from its influences that it’s impossible to determine what exactly it brings to the table on its own.

On the opening cut Can’t You Hear It Call, for example, the collective essentially crafts new lyrics for the Rolling Stones’ Brown Sugar and claims the tune as its own. Elsewhere, The Colour’s appropriations are dispatched in a stealthier fashion, though they also remain readily apparent. Jumping Jack Flash and Gimme Shelter serve as the template for You’re a Treasure; Kill the Lights borrows from The Smiths; and on Just a Taste and Devil’s Got a Holda Me, Hull does a picture perfect impression of Robert Plant, and he even incorporates bits of Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll into the latter track. In the end, it’s hard to shake the notion that The Colour is still searching for its own identity, and although on Between Earth & Sky it does a tremendous job of paying homage to its heroes, it never manages to rise above them. ½

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2007 The Music Box