Awesome Color Albums (2)
'Electric Aborigines'
Release Date 4/29/2008
Tracks 10
Label Ecstatic Peace!
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The opening moments of Awesome Color's second album catches the band already deep in the midst of what sounds like at least a three-alarm fire. Drummer Allison Busch is going monkey crazy behind her kit, Derek Stanton is shredding vocal chords and throwing out lightning-fast, thunder heavy guitar and Michael Troutman stands in the middle of the wreckage holding it down in classic Entwistle style. It's a rousing, inspiring start and serves notice that not much has changed since the band's first album. Awesome Color was a thrilling blast of rock & roll energy delivered with brains and brawn, sounding like grandkids of the '60s Detroit rock sound, but also like kids having a blast rocking like hell. Electric Aborigines is more of the same and that is a very good thing. Their sound is so tight, dynamic and exciting that the lack of change matters not one bit. The band could crank out album after album in this exact style and never be boring. There are a few stylistic differences between albums, Electric Aborigines is a little looser here and there (the funky "Come and Dance" being an example) and they experiment more sonically by bringing in a few new instruments to complement their classic power trio lineup, most notably organ and sitar. There's also a slightly more confident feel to the tracks, and the sound is a little less frantic and a little more focused, which leads to less unpredictability from song to song but makes for a more unified and powerful album. Songs like the thudding sludge rocker "Taste It" or the slinky, menacing "Outside Tonight" actually show some restraint and prove that the band doesn't have to go all out to have the same spine-tingling impact. Indeed, Awesome Color is still awesome and Electric Aborigines is another first-rate dose of rock & roll thunder. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Awesome Color is a power trio from Brooklyn but their original and spiritual home is in the Midwest; the Midwest where drums sound like they're pounded with tree limbs, where angry, ugly guitars and snarled, over-amped vocals rule the day, and the Stooges rule with a leather whip and a TV eye. The band's self-titled debut is a rocket-fueled blast of energy and brains, packed with songs and sounds that will blow you away. They are equally adept at bashing out short and devilish rockers, and at weaving through longer and slower trippy tunes like the album's last track, "Animal." Guitarist/vocalist Derek Stanton is both an amazing singer from the howl-till-the-mic-feedbacks school, and a fiery guitarist with a knack for bludgeoning riffs and raw, exciting solos, too. He's backed with precision by drummer Allison Busch and bassist Michael Troutman; they give Stanton room to run wild and are always there when he lands. A near perfect rhythm section, in other words. The trio put their skills to use on hook-filled, roof-raising tracks like "Ridin'," "Free Man," the rampaging "Hat Energy" (which features some fine free-form sax work from Wade Kergan) and the near Sabbath grind of "See You Hear You." You wouldn't think from looking at the booklet photo of the group that such an innocent looking bunch (dressed in such loud colors!) could create a sound so hairy, tough and thudding. They can, though, and while they are nothing if not derivative, they play with so much energy and fire that they sound like contemporaries, even peers, of the Stooges, not like kids kicking out the jams almost 30 years later. Awesome Color lives up to their name. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
