while listening to Outline In Color’s most recent album release, Masks. With its catchy riffs, aggressive percussive sound, and the complimentary blend of clean vocals and unclean vocals, Masks maintains a hard hitting, energy driven sound throughout the entirety of the album, leaving you greatly appreciating the work and dedication the band put into this release. Keep in mind, there is a small potential of bummed-induced feeling when you realize you missed the opportunity to see them live by two weeks, after first listening to this rad example of a great post-hardcore album... or maybe that was just me.

 

Masks, which is Tulsa, Oklahoma native Outline In Color’s second full-length album release, with its predecessor being 2012’s Jury Of Wolves, showcases the end result of this six-piece powerhouse’s efforts through excellent craftsmanship and musicianship. Made up of the combined talents of unclean vocalist Trevor Tatro, clean vocalist K.C. Simonsen, guitarist Forrest Mankins and See Jay Cochran, bass guitarist Michael Skaggs, and drummer Austin McFerrin, Masks leaves you with an overly satisfying listening experience and a desire to genuinely let yourself get lost in the music presented. To put it in somewhat recognizable terms, think if Memphis May Fire and Jamie’s Elsewhere ended up with a lovechild, who grew up and had a little fling with Dance Gavin Dance. All being very energy driven bands possessing technical music arrangements, a wide array of vocal abilities and ranges, and with the occasional well placed musical transitions from time to time.

 

The album comes out swinging with a strong start in its initial track, “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” setting up the foundations and structure that lasts through the majority of the album in terms of catchiness, high energy level, and sort of controlled chaos that leaves you unable to resist your inner urges to let loose and get a little wild, which is exactly what you want in live performance situation. The only true exception to this particular album’s formula comes in the form of “Whispers,” which for all intents and purposes, could be looked at as a sort of rock ballad, since it tells a somber story of loss, change, and the easily relatable subject of memories in the form of ghosts of once was and no longer is. The song comes in at track ten of twelve, leaving the last two tracks, “The Golden Rule” and “55” to round out the album with a solid conclusion to Masks.

 

So in an attempt to start wrapping up a review I could easily run with for another few hours, I entirely and wholeheartedly recommend the purchase of this album. Outline In Color’s Masks is now available on Merchnow and iTunes through Standby Records. Also, take some time to show their Facebook some love, and keep an eye out on future tour dates as, while I’ve only had the pleasure of seeing their live performances via Youtube, I can only imagine they put on a pretty incredible show with all the energy both the music and the band itself possesses. They’ve recently been on tour with Miss Fortune and The Animal In Me, and from what I gather, have a few shows lined up in the July and August months, so go show some love!