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| Color Morale, The - We All Have Demons | The Color Morale - We All Have Demons
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Record Label: Rise Records
By now, all of us are well-versed in the ways of Rise Records. Their success has hinged on their abilities to jump onto up-and-coming acts in the latest trends (synth-core, crunkcore, what have you) to release their debut (and sometimes second) albums before those bands explode onto larger labels. Acts like Breathe Carolina and The Devil Wears Prada chose this route, while other bands such as Dance Gavin Dance stick around for a while, but those are few and far between. Sadly, the scene-hopping nature of the label has caused them to lose respect both on this site and across the nation for mature music fans, thanks to bands like Attack Attack! or Miss May I. Why all the history, you ask? Because every word I have just typed digs a greater hole for The Color Morale to have to dig themselves out of. Signed out of the mid-west after forming from the break-ups of smaller bands in their area, this Christian-minded hardcore quintet are ready to take their hacks at success, and with the backing of the label responsible for giving us Breathe Carolina, they needed a grand slam.
Unfortunately, We All Have Demons is but a stand-up double: Safe, no doubt, but the listener is left knowing it could have been so much more with a little extra effort.
While it isn't anything overwhelmingly inventive, The Color Morale do make some strides throughout the album. The band are a typical screaming-singing mix, and they do their best to mix up song structures, making each seem fresh. The band doesn't have a synth player or a keyboardist, which is, at the very least, a step in the right direction. The album has three credited vocalists, which adds a very subtle yet evident atmosphere to a few tracks. The band's lyrics tend to be on the motivational side, which is a refreshing change in pace from the "I'm drunk, you're hot (I think) let's dance/make out/fuck right now" or "Relationships suck, but I've got friends, now here's a breakdown!" themes that have taken over the scene lately.
While a few details of this release help to space The Color Morale from the pack, there are a few things that hinder the album and ultimately seal the fate of the band being brought back toward (not necessarily all the way in, mind you) the monotonous scene and label they're associated with. We All Have Demons is filled to the brim with fast-paced songs teeming with breakdowns, which take away from the message of the album. The album contains eleven tracks, but three are less than two minutes long, leaving the band little time to make a significant impression in the listener's mind.
While they have a few things working against them, The Color Morale are definitely a band to watch out for in the future. Their effort on We All Have Demons is certainly a showcase of the band's potential, even if they're not quite as polished as you'd like them to be. Garret Rapp establishes himself as a more than capable frontman throughout the album, while guitarists Ramon Mendoza and John Bross show signs of commitment to their craft with occasional instances of careful attention to detail. While they may not be the most creative band in the world, they are certainly worth giving a shot. Only time will tell if they can live down their Rise Records affilitation, but The Color Morale is certainly a band worth keeping in the back of your mind as a band to watch in the years to come. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 14 of 14. |
11:14 PM on 12/30/09 | we will set sail the prairie "humannequin" is one of the best songs of the year. awesome structure and the breakdown at the end fucking destroys. | | |
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07:47 AM on 12/31/09 | hummannequin is def one of the best songs of 2009
great album | | |
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09:44 PM on 01/02/10 | "humannequin" is one of the best songs of the year. awesome structure and the breakdown at the end fucking destroys. |
I'm a sucker for bass drops.
Great review by the way. Nicely written. | | |
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08:37 AM on 01/28/10 | for sure this band will make even better next album if they continue to strive.
this band has a kinda generic sound but Garret Rapp's vocals give their music some flare.
but i do love this band i've listened to the album multiple times and still haven't gotten tired of it. :)
i give props to the color morale! lol | | |
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09:04 AM on 02/04/10 | Hopes Anchor is a really great song. Album is pretty good. | | |
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01:03 PM on 02/18/10 | What's wrong with Miss May I? Nothing about them is trendy. | | |
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11:44 PM on 03/27/10 | pretty solid review... I like how you addressed the problem with Rise records, i think the shorter tracks were the most unique and i'd like to see them explore that kind of sound more in their later work. but regardless they're good at what they do, if only they'd come along earlier, they wouldn't have been pigeonholed as "generic" | | |
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01:20 PM on 04/07/10 | I thought that this was a great album. One of the best bands on Rise. | | |
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09:52 PM on 04/10/10 | Can someone please tell me how this band is generic? They have but 1 true breakdown in the entire album. And while the vocals are autotuned it is used very appropriately. | | |
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04:08 PM on 06/09/10 | Best Band on Rise!!! Just sayin... | | |
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09:40 PM on 07/19/10 | I just want to be a better man. What's wrong with Miss May I? Nothing about them is trendy. |
this
miss may i is one of my favorite bands but they probably just got put in this review for covering swing | | |
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01:46 PM on 05/05/11 | I wonder when someone will interview the chick from his past that he's always screaming about... I heard her story, pretty epic. | | |
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07:37 PM on 07/18/11 | I listened to a few of there songs and these guys seem pretty good. Guess i will have to check them out | | |
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