While siphoning through my emails, I came across the title 'Music + Colours'. Intrigued and excited by the theory that colour has a direct relationship with sound and vice versa as I was, I continued to listen through this EP, from the Australian outfit of the same name. While his eponymous 12" and indeed the email were more a play on that name rather than an exploration into colour synesthesia or subject matter of the sort, the door I opened lead into a creation all together more satisfying. Four tracks of the noise-pop persuasion ring out, dusted in a subtle, lo-fi sensibility and yet overtly confident in their delivery. Sound surrounds you, swelling and building and filling a space so wonderfully airy, and yet detailed in a manner quite unbelievably captivating. The opening number 'Could I?', which you can stream above, emerges from a silent emptiness, colouring the gray scaled world in splashes of brilliant vibrancy. Bright, unwavering purples spring from solemn gray, flecks of orange falling from warm browns like tired autumn leaves. Summery reds and yellows splatter across walls of uninspired white, layering upon each other like unrestrained weeds. Tangled together and intertwined as such, they form something all together different. The spectrum of sound and colour as one reveals a certain unity and natural order far beyond the ability of one without the other, coaxing forth thoughts and images and ideas that excite even the most uncreative of people. 'I've Watched You Suffer', with it's pronounced vocals and memorable hook follows, before a suitably intense, noisy finish leads into 'Sleeper', the penultimate track. Throughout all these songs, one thing you notice is that even through the busyness of it all, a melody and beat still find their way to the forefront of the music. In a way, the noise ties everything together, ordering things with its primal, sprawling grasp. 'Sleeper' is no different, a confident rhythm taking shape amongst the beautiful chaos. A glittering, echoing end introduces the final number, 'A Thousand Words', which seems to me to be the most accessible. Obvious verses are broken by instrumental interludes that build on everything that's gone before. The second half is particularly fantastic, opening with crystal clear notes astride strong, powerful beats. The sounds grow and grow, and as the end looms, tower above everything in an awe-inspiring, celestial mass. Its cheeks are coloured and muscles highlighted by a light unlike that from any fire or electric bulb. Tom Crandles has dreams. Dreams that throb and pulsate under glaciers of the modern incapacity to hear the beauty and ambience and atmosphere underneath the noise. Truthfully, I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed Colours' EP. It's well worth a listen, and maybe even a purchase? Stream the first track 'Could I?' above, and pre-order all four songs from Tom's Bandcamp page!
