Secret Colours – s/t

There are some people who would, keeping a straight-face, assert that The Stone Roses are (possibly/one of) the greatest band(s) of all time. Secret Colours are ideal for them, partly because the Chicago band play music that is somewhat similar to theirs, but also because the fact that an American band can so convincingly do this might cause their collective head to explode in a bloody mess. Fingers crossed.

The label ‘psychedelic’ is almost meaningless, in most applications it can handily be taken to mean a bunch of guys playing music they liked the sound of from the 1960s and though Secret Colours are by far not immune to the songwriting clichés that are seemingly mandatory for any band who hope to credibly describe themselves as such, (LSD gets a name-check pretty early on, of course! You can’t be psychedelic without it!) they have managed to create an album that convincingly draws upon sixties influences without choking on tie-dyed t-shirts and anti-war slogans.

This is possibly because the overwhelming influence seems to be the late 80s/90s indie scene in the UK. Whether Secret Colours realizes it or not, bands like The Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets seem to have had a significant effect on their overall sound as they come off almost like a more modern version of these predecessors.

But even if this marks them out as derivative, this album is quite an achievement. It’s very easy to become absorbed in the music. Songs seem to drift by, at once lively and subdued. It’s like floating across the surface of the ocean, the activity below isn’t immediately obvious or even detectable, but it’s there helping to create the whole scene. That’s what’s so remarkable about this album: how polished and complete the music sounds, as if the band had been playing together in the womb. There seems to be a rare level of understanding about what’s really necessary, and this brings the quality of the music right up.

So while ‘psychedelic’ is a descriptive term to by eyed with suspicion, prodded with sticks and blacklisted from social events, bands like Secret Colours will gradually make it more acceptable because regardless of what you call it, this is great music.