lp COLOUR HAZE
we are
Country of Release: Germany 2020
Label: Elektrohasch
Catalog number: EH 012
Barcode: -
Gatefold Cover/Gatefold Sleeve: Yes/ YES
Condition Record: mint (Unplayed / Unplayed)
Condition Cover: mint
Track Side 1:
1. We Are (3:23)
2. The real (8:37)
3. LIFE (8:43)
Track Side 2:
1. Material Drive (4:29)
2. I'm With You (7:47)
3. Be With Me (5:38)
4. Joy III (7:03)
Listen At YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y62IOLri54k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNKDCGjuyNQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anip-BKTTw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBCjmhXnE8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3q13fsnLZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4HhwUw3VBYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXEt6gFYOY
It is no small thing FOR AbandTo change its construction after about 20 yearsof working withTheSame lineup, but as they cap their 25th anniversary celebration in 2019 withThe release ofThe new album We Are (formerly titledLIFE ), that is precisely what Munich'sCOLOUR HAZE have done. The godfathers of European HEAVYThe core trioof guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, bassist Philipp Rasthofer and drummer Manfred Merwald, but with 2017'sIn Her Garden they beganTo experiment more with adding flourishof organ and various synthFrom Jan Faszbender, and since then, Faszbender has become A partofA new four-piece incarnationofCOLOUR HAZE .
On The seven-track/45-minute We Are, which is released as ever through Koglek's Elektrohasch Schallplatten imprint and opens its FirstArush with its quick-boogie title track, they continueTo experiment and drive themselves forward in that integration, with Faszbender moving between playing offTheEnergyof Merwald's drumming, running along with Koglek's guitar in The graceful instrumental sweep inThe second halfof "LIFE ,” and generally filling outThe melodic and rhythmic foundationsofThe material while offeringA few stand-out moments ofHIS own, such as The organ layingThe bed FORThe soaring vocals — and I mean “soaring”; there are some pointedly operational guest vocals goingOn there tooofThe album apex “Be with Me.”The change, in other words, suitsCOLOUR HAZE . Their studio arrangements have been branching out since well before 2012's She Said brought in strings and horns and 2014's To TheHighest Gods We Know answered back and builtOn those impulses, butFrom whereThe branching out is happening has changed, and theirSound is that much richerFOR having Faszbender in The lineupOnA hopefully ongoing basis.
of course, signature elements remain. Rasthofer's bass is STILL ofThe bassist's runsFromOne fretToThe next. Koglek is STILL an explorer, and while longtime followers ofCOLOUR HAZE will recognize snippets likeA push offFromThe central reefof “Aqua Maria”From 2006's Temple in “I'm with You ”On side B, there's alsoThe four-and-a-half-minute centerpiece “Material Drive”To contend with, led as it is by acoustic guitar with Koglek inThe Richie–Havens-at-Woodstock role asThe restofThe band gradually joins in behind, Faszbender in particular makingThe song that much more ofA high point of we are withA two-handed approachof organ and synth running concurrently whileThe bass fills outThe mix. And I don't Know ifOnCOLOUR HAZERecords before — or flute Mellotron, but anytime they wantTo doA recordof semi-acoustic acid folk protest songs, I'm ready FOR it.
That's not To take away FromThe running jamof closer “Joy III” orThe earlier one-into-the-next-like-the-phrase-it-spells-out “We Are,” “The Real” and “LIFE ”On side A or evenThe two-part side B complement in “I'm WithYou ” / “Be With Me,” I'm just sayingThe arrangementof “Material Drive” works well. Really The SameThe boardOn We Are, andTheband are carefulTo acknowledgeThe role ofThe mix in their presentationofThe material, balancing guitar and keys well even just as “The Real” takes off afterThe initial hooky shuffleof “We Are” itself startsThe record at Arush , setting The tone inA way FOR what'sTo comeOn at an almost subconscious levelFORThe listener. In some ways it's less pointedly prog than what The prevailing spirit ofIn Her Garden , which ran 72 minutes and wasA 2lpof marked immersiveness, but asTheband 's 13th long-player, we are confirms that even in their relatively new four-piece incarnation, COLOUR HAZE 's focus remainsOn an organic feel and deliveringThe most naturalSound possible.
Some spoken lines From Koglek and HISFOR note withHIS subsequent guitar lead areThe only vocalsOn "The Real,” but as both that andThe peaceful-build-int0-fervent-thrust of “LIFE ” top eight andA half minutes, it's earlyOn thatTheband capturesThe listener's attention and setsTo unfolding The courseof We are as A whole, whichof course side B expands beginning with “Material Drive” and moving through The layered vocalsof “I'm WithYou ” and more fluteSoundsOn "Be With Me,"A whirlwindof guitar turns openingWideToThe payoffofThe album inThe spiritof songs like She Said's “Transformation” about four minutes in, just beforeThe vocals begin their aforementioned flight. That would seem To leave “Freude III” ('freude' being 'joy' in English) as an afterthought, but it turns out instead ToTo be answering someofThe progressionofIn Her Garden whileSTILL holding To We Are's particular balance, an enticingCascadeof nuance and natural impulses that plays out acrossThe seven-minute instrumental finale inTwo distinct movementsThe loadof which ends — suitably enough —On ALong fadeout of synth asif To underscore how farCOLOUR HAZE 's journey has taken them not only sinceThe reefer beginningofThe recordOn "We Are," but inGENERAL across their spanof years and spanof albums.
They are inherently in conversation with their past On We Are— TheofThe recordCan certainly be taken asA declarationof self, despite howThe songs portray it — as even those emergent titular phrases was an element put To useOn 2008's All , and perhaps reflectingOnA quarter centuryofTheband 's existence isA part of that either consciously or not, but they show as clearly as ever in this material that looking back by no means hasTo stop YouFrom moving forward. I will gladly admit To being AofTheband , like thatifYou needTo take this review with that in consideration, that's fine. From where I sit, every Time COLOUR HAZEA record — and again, this is theirLUCKY 13th — it is nothing less thanA gift, and we are sneaking in underThe wire asOneof The best gifts 2019 has hadTo offer. FOR old fans, it offers something new in The shift ofof arrangements, andFOR newcomers, its refreshedSound should prove allThe more welcoming. Quite simply, COLOUR HAZE make TheA better place. (theobelisk.net)
Stefan Koglek - vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, X-911 guitar synthesizer
Philipp Rasthofer - bass
Manfred Merwald - drums
Jan Faszbender - organ, electric piano, synthesizer, mellotron, clavinet
&
Julia Rutigliano - Backing Vocals (Tracks 1, 2, 6)
Mathew Bethancourt - Backing Vocals (Track 5)
Florian Riedl - Flute (Track 6)
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