Soapbox time now, for some unsolicited advice you might never use: You should reclaim the music you associate with negative figures in your past with whom you no longer have a healthy relationship, platonic or otherwise.
For me, one of those bands is Colour Revolt.
A numbers of years ago, I was dating a girl and in general hitting rock bottom (which included dating this person for far longer than I should have, heh). At the onset of our blossoming friendship, Colour Revolt’s criminally underrated 2008 album Plunder, Beg, and Curse was all I was listening to, for weeks on end. I had known of the band’s self-titled EP, which housed one of my favorite Revolt songs, the delicious “Mattresses Underwater.” I had played that cut on my radio show a bunch of times over the course of the previous 3 years, but I hadn’t dipped further into Plunder, Beg, and Curse right yet.
Boy, was I missing out.
Based in Mississippi, Colour Revolt plays a rugged, downright dusty brand of indie alt-rock. Through this project, I’ve found out that almost anything that is rugged and makes me sneer like Billy Idol or grit my teeth is a sound that is being done right. That overdriven fuzziness is littered all over Plunder, and I feel like that’s for my own personal benefit.
I wrote that I was into Plunder’s successor and the band’s possible final release, The Cradle. But what that records lacks is the punch and dare I say the panache this album champions. Plunder has the teeth that Cradle so desperately needed to sustain it from being a just-ever-so-slightly-above-average release.
Most notable, I think, is that Plunder has as good of a B-side as it does its front. In baseball, the 6th through the 8th spots in the batting order are usually reserved for your quiet utility dudes. Not usually the best hitters. Happy to report here that the aforementioned trio might just be the best tracks on the whole album, not to mention just the back end. “Swamp,” “Ageless Everytime,” and “Innocent and All” each stand out above the rest of the record.
As it was with The Cradle, vocalist Jesse Coppenbarger’s voice is smooth as molasses, especially on Plunder’s abundant melodies. I’d be willing to bet he listened to a lot of classic southern blues, soul, and gospel music growing up, because the crooning elements are there.
So yeah, if someone wrecks an album for you, give them your best DX crotch chop and take that junk back, STAT. Prior to immediately. Do it. You won’t regret it, because it’s your property too.
From Plunder, Beg, and Curse, this is “Swamp” –
Standout tracks: “Naked and Red,” “Swamp,” and “Innocent and All”
Weakest track: “Elegant View”
RIYL: As Cities Burn’s later work, Murder By Death, David Bazan’s newer stuff.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/plunder-beg-and-curse/id294900613
One Record Per Day 