F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13, the improbably named, full-length debut from rock band Colourmusic, has a mouthful of a title, and it's not the only thing that's over-the-top about the Oklahoma group. Not only does the band dress in matching all-white outfits for live performances, but they've also gone so far as to grow matching bushy mustaches and beards. So it's not surprising that the personal quirks of the band spill over into the music.
Inspired by Sir Isaac Newton's theories about the relationship between color and sound, Colourmusic has previously released Red and Yellow, both EPs. They were attempts at conveying their respective colors in sonic terms, and now the band tackles the color orange with Colourmusic's first LP.
On the album's second track, "Put in A Little Gas," Colourmusic starts off with distorted synth and pounding drums, setting up a beat that is impossible to ignore. A minute in, it shifts moods suddenly, with mellow piano chords and gently-sung lyrics, before revving the song back into its prior hard-rocking haze. It's an odd mix of styles –- half head-banger, half nursery-rhyme -– but it's a mash-up that Colourmusic does well, even if most of the other tracks on F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13 (like the calmer "Winter Song") venture into playful folk-pop territory.
What orange sounds like is anybody's guess, but the music on F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13 suggests that it is one incredibly vivid, exuberant color.
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