There’s something about The Colour Revolt’s music that has always been uneasy to listen to. It’s truthful and blatantly tears sutures across the walls of a secluded mind left alone with its innermost thoughts. Some beautiful. Some frightening. All real and passionate. The music also carries just as much of the weight as Jesse Coppenbarger lyrics. There’s Southern tinge and biblical proportioning of vocal phrasing and earnest attitude.
Coming off their swampy yet blazing debut full-length, and then going through member changes in the last few years, many fans were wondering where the direction of the band would shift. Many longtime listeners searching for gritty instrumentation dragged against the dirt will find it in a new form, while others looking for some of the band’s past elegance and shine will find that it has blossomed into something further and for the better.
”Our Names” and “Everything is The Same” are beautiful builds, each possessing a different approach. The latter is stripped down but possesses the same passion as the former. The same can be said about bright aura of “Brought to Life” with its lush guitar tones. Where Colour Revolt have harnessed their calm side perfectly, they are not without the bite that have made many, including myself, a fan. “8 Years” is a gripping opener that spews something between a parable and the draining of scribbled thoughts backed up on the mind. “Heartbeat” is visceral without being too vicious, something Colour Revolt are perfect at.
Where the band improved the most was combining the two formulas once separated in tracks in the past. From the title track to the closing “Reno,” the combination of snarling guitar licks and vocals are put together nicely with a lush undertone of song writing ease. The Cradle takes a few listens to get into the band’s new direction, but after a while, you realize the passion of the band has just been reshaped a bit and that uneasy sensation you’ve come to love is still crawling down your back in perfect rhythm and ease.
