The Color and Sound - Peace of Mind

Steven Tyler Poletis | September 12,  2014

Indie rockers from Boston, Massachusetts have provided the music world with a third EP titled, Peace of Mind.  On September 16, The Color and Sound will release the EP on Black Numbers.  After forming in 2012, The Color and Sound have worked relentlessly to produce a newly refined, more mature sound.  Peace of Mind is a six-song EP providing beautiful vocal harmonies, catchy guitar riffs, clever synth lines, and pulls wonderful similarities from Jukebox the Ghost.  

 

The opening track, “Cigarettes,” begins with an upbeat drum track accompanied by a quick, but lovely synth and chimes melody.  When 

the verse kicks into gear, a light drumbeat and a moving bass line provide the perfect accompaniment to the strong, lovable vocals that are sung, “Something tells me I fell back a step/ One step forward two steps back again/ All my friends are smoking cigarettes/ All I can do is whisper my regrets.”  While providing a similar sound to Frank Turner’s “Four Simple Words,” this song will have you cranking up the volume and singing along.  

 

The following track, “Bad Blood,” has a mesmerizing sound thanks to the beautiful unison and harmonizing vocals between members Chris and Ally.  The timbre and blend of the voices provides for a nice treat before considering the calm, relaxing guitar, drums, and light, but tasteful synth.  

 

The third track threw me for a bit of a psychological spin.   From the second the music begins, I could have sworn I was listening to “I Just Came to Say Hello” by Martin Solveig.  I was obviously proved wrong after the vocals started, but The Color and Sound’s “Back to Me” sounds a bit too much like the popular electro house song.  While the instrumentals and vocals of this song don’t bring as much to the table musically as the previous tracks, “Back to Me” is still catchy, so The Color and Sound are doing something right.

 

“Do It Again,” the EP’s fourth track is a nice change of pace in comparison to the other songs.  While there is a constant use of guitar and drums, it’s a rather light and slower song with a beautiful, but repetitive lyrical line of “You’re on fire.”  Again, the execution of Chris and Ally’s vocal harmonies and background ‘oohs’ is absolutely flawless and is the driving source of energy throughout the track.  

 

Overall, Peace of Mind is one step-forward in the right direction for The Color and Sound.  Showing that they’ve grown as musicians, they’ve brought some catchy, melodic, harmonic, upbeat, and slower songs to the indie rock scene.  Peace of Mind is available for preorder on Black Numbers page through No Sleep Records. Pick up the record on vinyl with the choice of green, pink, clear, or even a limited number of test presses.  While The Color and Sound do not currently have any upcoming tour dates, it would be great to see them sometime in the near future. Be sure to check out their facebook and bandcamp to stay on top of upcoming shows as well as new music and merchandise.