Coloured Clocks - Castle

Coloured Clocks

Castle
self-released; 2022

By Jay Freeman

Melbourne, Australia’s Coloured Clocks latest release, Castle, follows up 2021’s The Floral Emblem, which was also reviewed at Pitch Perfect. The band plays their own unique blend of psychedelic pop, influenced by the likes of Van Morrison, Tame Impala, Blood Orange, Toro Y Moi, Van She and Queen. The opening track “In the Castle” starts off quiet and slow, ambient and kind of trippy in a way. I’m not sure but to my ears it sounds like a few off notes were played, but it could just be my ears. I did love the sound of the drums, all the futuristic-like keys/synths and the effect treatments on the vocals. Quite a unique sound and style overall. “Universe” lays it down a little heavier with the rhythm section, and the synths sound more like late ‘70s/early ‘80s. Another original sounding track, so much so, I find it hard to compare Coloured Clocks’ music to any one else at this point, apart from what’s been mentioned earlier. 

“Flightless Tigers” has got this ‘70s glam presence about it, but with an updated feel. Kind of like if a band of today who’s bringing back glam, met up with some glam band from decades ago. “In Good Time” has a trippy, spaced out sound. Lots of lofty or ethereal sounding keys can be heard, soft guitar playing and traditional piano melodies, too. This one makes me think of Bowie, meets Blind Melon, meets Oasis. I don’t know - maybe you have a better comparison? Next up is “The Future Love” and this tune features a faster, more direct beat and poppier piano melody. On this tune, I am reminded of Gary Numan from his first two or maybe three albums. Lots of post-punk/new wave stuff going on when synth music was all the rage. “Only Lonely” is another track that features a more traditional pop song structure and a fantastic, echoing melody. The next song “Not Alright” is the “ballad” song on the album. The piano chords have a familiar style and structure. There are added synths and acoustic guitars in here, too. Very early Bowie in some ways I’d say. 

“Sun and Lightning” has a heavy synth presence with accompanied piano. There’s also a sort of ‘90s alternative rock beat, where the snare drum sound seemed to be that “dragging style” made well known by a lot of bands at the time, especially Oasis, I think. The highlight to this number is when the drums are cut out towards the end and things get quiet, with only an acoustic and piano playing. “Castleworld” is one of the songs where two guitar sounds are mixed together, and a hollow or muffled drum beat is heard. In fact, I thought the guitars took center stage here. Overall, this song’s style has a lot of soul and perhaps, trip-hop elements to it, which made it stick out more than the others. This is also the band’s longest track. Overall, there are a lot of moving parts to listen to. Moving on to “How the Story Goes” which felt to me like another ballad-type song. It’s about going on a trip with some girl and showing her all the “shifting colors of the sand” or something like that. Even with good intentions for someone you really adore, “we can never know how the story goes.” 

​“Set in Stone” features a bigger, bolder style - almost like theater pop, whatever that is. I really enjoyed how this one flowed from verse to chorus, how the guitars sounded like they were played through some fusion distortion pedal and how angelic the backing vocals were. I’d have to say this was my favorite track. “Tore Me Apart” was another great song, in my opinion. It’s got this melancholic ‘70s feel to it. Maybe it was the beautiful piano melodies, the soft guitar playing and the trippy, jazz style the band was playing. This song ends with some piano measures and transitions right into “Von.” This tune reminded me a lot of early Bowie stuff from the ’70s. I think it was the way the drums sound, the piano and the trippy vocal effect. I don’t know. This last track was another favorite. It’s sound sad - “my mind’s made up / even thought I gotta go - you remind me of.”  But, it’s a good kind of sad. Like when happy memories of the past somehow are also sad memories, because you miss a loved one so much. Coloured Clocks’ Castle, is a symphony of sounds for the ears. Lots of gorgeous and lush melodies can be heard throughout. If you’re familiar with this Australian band, this album shouldn’t disappoint.

Tweet