Review: Color Green – Fool’s Parade
Color Green – Fool’s Parade
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: New West Records
Release: 2024
Text: Bert van Kessel
On their second full-length album the California-based quartet Color Green takes us on a nostalgic trip to 70s cosmic American music, very much inspired by Jerry Garcia and then popular bands like Sagittarius and Millennium.
Add a whiff of Doors and a little rock guitar and you get the idea. The band has two guitarists and four vocalists, resulting in mesmerizing layers of guitars and exquisite harmonies: They don’t work in the studio according to a fixed plan but choose to improvise and jam freely, going where the music takes them, stylistically allowing the nine tracks to digress into all sorts of territories, like Beach Boys and even classic 70s rock.
The album is a dynamic collection of highs and lows, with quiet moments like the touching 5:08 and the reckless abandon of Kick The Bucket ,with an exciting guitar jam, standing side by side.
The album opener Coronado sticks instantly and won’t leave your head for days,with a thrilling twin guitar duet (Duane and Dickey would have nodded approvingly).
It’s on prize number God in A $ that the band really lets go, amply displaying their musical abilities and showcasing an infectious mix of influences. Ball and Key would have fiited beautifully in the Moby Grape catalogue. Four Leaf Clover is a lively and enthusiastic dance track, while closer Hazel Eyes could have been a Brian Wilson production of a Buddy Holly song.
This hugely talented foursome has created a exceptionally diverse, captivating and very enjoyable cosmic listening experience. I wonder where their next studio ‘trip’ will take them.
Tracks:
01. Coronado
02. Four Leaf Clover
03. Fool’s Parade
04. When The Clouds Roll In
05. God In A $
06. 5:08
07. Kick The Bucket
08. Ball And Key
09. Hazel Eyes
Website: https://colorgreenband.com/