Cajun Dance Party - The Colourful Life
It is quite difficult to believe that five young, talented, multi-instrumentalists have had the time, let alone the energy to put into making their debut release ‘The Colourful Life’. Based in London, these guys are barely out of their teens, therefore trying to balance a heavy schedule of schooling as well as writing, recording and promoting the album. Since playing Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds Festivals last year as well as the Underage Music Festival and the Camden Crawl in the past, Cajun Dance Party are looking to make 2008 an even better year, starting with the release of their album.
Their debut single was ‘The Next Untouchable’ and this lively and energetic track is an example of the wonders this band has lined up to take the world by storm. The album begins with the gentle beat of ‘Colourful Life’, an easygoing track that keeps the peace inside of you and as it continues, a more varied blend of indie rock appears to come through. Some tracks emerge to take on a ballad style while others continue on the rock path with a slight more edge. ‘Time Falls’ for example may begin with a heartbeat but it warms up the soul for a boisterous instrumental.
Imagine acts like the Kooks and One Night Only and this is the beginning of what this band sounds like. The only difference being the more instrumental additions this album holds. ‘The Race’ is just one example where strings and a tight bass lighten the track to all new levels and add real attraction. It begins like an old indie guitar riff and really gets a listener involved.
The slower sounding tracks share just as much passion as the upbeat ones. ‘Buttercups’ may be slower but the emotions and passion put in shine brightly. Having said that, on upbeat moments the track speeds up and becomes more intense. The semi-acoustic love song provided by the band, ‘No Joanna’ is one that rocks the heart with its gentle pings and strings. The vocals present here sit on a pedestal above a climbing wave of sounds. ‘Amylase’ was a rush of sound to the ear but what made everything stand out and become more noticeable were the vocal harmonies. Vocals have never sounded so well merged than on this record. They were very distinctive for the way they sound so similar yet belonged to two different individuals.
All track on this record were written by vocalist Daniel Blumberg and guitarist Robbie Stern. The track that stands out is the concluding number, ‘The Hill, The View and The Lights’ being the fact that keyboardist Vicky Freund has the chance to express her lyrical and vocal talents. It begins with the repetition of taps and pings, but, when the male vocals join in, the track sharpens and creates a more static atmosphere, especially when the vocals and music tend to scream and screech towards the end.
This is a very well mastered debut.