Brilliant Colors
Again and Again
Release Date: Jul 19, 2011
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Pop, Noise Pop
Record label: Slumberland
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Album Review: Again and Again by Brilliant Colors
Satisfactory, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Brilliant Colors' debut record, Introducing, was a quick and promising affair, the all-girl trio from San Francisco charging through a hooky, noisy batch of indie pop with a punk streak like a Flying Nun/C-86 hybrid. Their follow-up record, Again and Again, delivers the same amount of value as the debut, only it's a little sharper and focused both sonically and in the songwriting department. The drums have a little more punch, the guitars ring a bit clearer, and the vocals are louder in the mix, all helping the songs come across better.
Based on rating 6.8/10
During The Great C86 Gold Rush of 2008, Slumberland re-established themselves as the label destination for indie-pop bands fusing together clanging distortion and bright, simple melodies. A few bands became popular during that period (the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Stilts), others developed a modest but reverential fan base (caUSE co-MOTION!), and Black Tambourine-- the very reason Slumberland was founded in the first place-- released an anthology at the height of their renewed influential status. One Slumberland group that went slightly overlooked was San Francisco's Brilliant Colors, who quietly released a 23-minute platter of driving noise-pop called Introducing.
Based on rating 2.5/5
So, when I was originally pitching this review to the man upstairs, I had the brilliant idea of doing a cut-and-paste of Mr P’s 2009 review of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s eponymous debut and calling it a day. “You already did the legwork on this one, boss,” I said. “Any inventory that I try to draw up of Again and Again’s strengths and weaknesses is going to wind up looking an awful lot like that piece.
Based on rating D
There’s something undeniably catchy about Brilliant Colors‘ version of the female-fronted bubblegum sorta-punk trafficked by Best Coast, as well as the Dum Dum and Vivian Girls. The distortion, hooks, lo-fi mentality, and sharp, staccato bursts are all there, but it’s a couple of years late, and the sound has since worn a little thin. It needs something extra to create the same panache.
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