‘Vera’, the highly-anticipated debut LP from Perth three-piece Crooked Colours is an exceptional blend of raw instrumentation and electronic elements that provides the perfect podium for both contemplation and dance.
Fresh off their latest single ‘I Hope You Get It’ (which features Ivan Ooze) receiving full rotation on triple J and support slots with the likes of Crystal Castles and RUFUS, Crooked Colours have moved towards a more simplistic nature in their composition with entrancing hooks and concise melodies that will become tattooed to your memory for days.
‘Flow’ is the perfect way to introduce the LP, highlighting the raw instrumental influence with the recurring guitar riff blended with a smooth bassline and thumping four to the floor beat. From an upbeat beginning, the track restrains itself momentarily with a pre-chorus that builds in force through a buzzing synthetic bass and the airiness in the vocals that leads to a dancefloor inspired beat that instantly gets you up and moving with significant ease.
An intriguing change up to the release lies within ‘All Eyes’, which acts as a major point of difference compared to the rest of the track listing. The attention from the get go lies purely on the combination of the raspy vocals and the piano chords, which leads into a clever little ‘tribal’ drum fill. The haunting harmonies add further mystery to the track, transcending to a half time breakdown, and before you know it, there’s a further change up with some intricate percussion.
‘Show Me’ sees vocalist Philip Slabber take centre stage with seemingly effortless melodies that captivate with each sentence. The scene is set for all romantics with some serious swagger in the guitars, morphing into a synthesized delight full of wobble and movement. The track cleverly intensifies itself with significant influence of further synths coming into play, including a subtle arpeggio that rises through the ranks to take reign and round out the song.
The best is saved to last in ‘Vera’, as ‘Perfect Run’ is a beautifully constructed piece that can be likened to RUFUS’ ‘Innerbloom’. Experimenting in the territories of emotive ballad and dance, ‘Perfect Run’ takes you on quite a journey through the 6-minute duration filled with pulsating bass, deep percussion and atmospheric pads.
It’s been a long time in the making, but Crooked Colours have well and truly delivered a remarkable debut LP that just might see itself be one of the Australian albums of the year.
Rating: ★★★★
‘VERA’ is out now through Sweat It Out, and fans can catch Crooked Colours live across Australia and UK/Europe on the following dates.
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author: Chris Salce