[rating=5.00]
Colony House’s debut album, When I Was Younger, is definitely o
ne with a distinct message; these young boys from Nashville, Tennessee are out to spread the word of hope and love to the world. And while that might be a bit of a cliché motive, their efforts are pure and full of passion.
“Silhouettes” starts off the album on a good note: it’s shimmery and peppy. The innocence and optimism in the song provides a good precursor for what is to come with the remaining 13 songs as “Second Guessing Games” comes in close second to “Silhouettes” on the joy scale.
The title track is a 52 second composition of a slow, repetitive three note progression and space whispers. The song acts as an intro for “Caught Me By Surprise,” where like many of the songs on the album, the vocals are so clear and said with such purpose but are vague and full of more cliché themes. “Roll With The Punches” for example has a nice feel to it but is missing points for creativity when it comes to lyrics like “Love is a lesson to be learned with time. We can climb a mountain. We can work our way around it.” Singer, Caleb Chapman’s voice is rich though and he carries the song with his skill in this department as Even with its simplicity, it is such a positive and encouraging song.
It isn’t until “Keep On Keeping On” that the religious focus emerges; at first it is subtle, with its talk of glory and the devil’s temptation, but serving a theme of hope and perseverance. Most of the songs on When I Was Younger seem to be inspired by the band’s religious fervor, but with a little effort they could be applicable to other topics as well. “Won’t give Up” is the only other clearly religious song as it talks about being saved by Jesus. It does have some of the more insightful lyrics on the record though, including an intro like a slowed down rendition of Bright Eye’s “First Day of my Life,”alongside the indie folk feel of Blitzen Trapper.
“2:20” is a standout of When I Was Younger, summoning The Black Keys, but surprisingly, the song sounds as if it has been inspired by two Led Zeppelin songs. A cool muted guitar lick is assaulted by a “Black Dog” guitar riff that then melts into echoey drum taps similar to that of “When the Levee Breaks.” After this veer however, it is back into the mellow indie rock of “Learning How to Love” with the pretty falsettos and vague verses about, well, learning how to love.
Colony House has demonstrated with this debut that they are capable of pop, folk, and indie. There may not be such a thing as too empowering, but at times they can come off sounding a bit like a Disney soundtrack. The musical skills are there though and maybe Colony House will be able to share their optimism and help some solemn souls.
