Mini Review:
No Colour
âDrive All Nightâ
End Transmission Recordings
The word drive and synthesizers seem to go hand in hand these days, as No Colour can attest on their latest EPÂ âDrive All Night.â
No Colour, the Philadelphia based duo of Sean Green (vocals/lyrics) & Kevin McTague (production/sound design), deal in mood and the slow burn, choosing to build their songs layer by layer, synth by synth, and by utilizing the philosophy of addition & retraction. The group toes the line of many dark genres, from electro-goth to witch-house, with film-score like structuring.Â
âBlack Veilâ gets the album off to a thumping and sci-fi-like start and only gets more sinister as Greenâs treated voice enters the fray. The vocals, atop the menacing sound bed, create an uneasy feeling, but in a Blade Runner-ish type of way.Â
âFingers Crossedâ gets downright dancey and benefits greatly from a burst of instrumental bliss, leading to some of the recordâs most straightforward moments, while the wide open New Age meets New Wave of âSecret Devotionâ brings in a whole new vibe. The most somberly paced track on the EP finds Green looking inward over McTagueâs soundscape and channeling that inner Gahan/Gore ideal of faith & burden.Â
Early single âPale Spectreâ finds the duo dipping their toes in witch houseâs blackened waters, further expanding upon their brand of electro goth-gaze. Dealing in blown out synth-scapes, âPale Spectreâ exudes some Cliff Martinez-like eeriness as Green laments: âThis room is cold like midnight / An awful time of day / I stare at my reflection / But feel no recognition.â
âNo Love Hereâ closes out the album in subtle and creepy fashion, with spoken word vocals looming over humming synths, creating the audio equivalent of the EPâs cover photo, dreary & nostalgic.Â
What No Colour accomplish on âDrive All Nightâ was creating a space where specific sounds, clipped memories, and mood combine to overhaul the senses one song at a time.
