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Album review

Cajun Dance Party – The Colourful Life

I have been told many times now; Cajun Dance Party are very young. The fact that they already have an army of fans, a record deal with the renowned XL, festival appearances under their belt and an album produced by Bernard Butler is definitely impressive, but let’s remember to check if their music backs up the hype.

The Colourful Life is a little slice of youthful indie pop, piled high with sugar and the upbeat type of feeling that reminds you of the most idyllic innocent summers day you could possibly have.  For many it will provide a glance into the past at what it was like to be brimming with positive uncertainty of what life will bring after the GCSE summer holidays. Others in the more enviably younger position will be looking happily to the future in terms of this scene.

The vocals are delivered by Daniel Blumberg. His voice is by no means unique or wonderful, yet it does have a certain allure, although a style that may have held its own five years ago is now in danger of becoming cliché alongside the many other indie bands of recent times to adopt the naive, beta male approach to singing. At certain points in the album it sounds like Daniel is trying too hard to strain every last drop of sentimentality and teenage angst out of his soul, until the listener is soaked with mawkish goo,  which leaves his lyrics feeling dry from  excessive squeezing of the emotion gland. On Time Falls, an image appears in my mind of the singer placing the back of his hand on his forehead, slowly swinging himself back in anguish while young girls swoon over this boy whose has just captured their hearts with his faux feelings.

Lyrically, they have their moments but there’s room for improvement. The way he compare a relationship to a game of chess in Amylase  is simple enough to be accessible to the masses, and still deserves merit for  it insight and youthful charm, but lyrics such as “you're the catalyst that makes things faster, amylase will dry up the plaster” counteract the previous wit.

The guitar sound is impressive and has a very warm feel to it, while at the same time being reminiscent of Joey Santiago’s  endearing twang, and has just the right amount of feedback to add extra texture to the music without clouding the melodic aspects of it. Stand out track; The next Untouchable, is a good example of Robbie Stern’s sterling guitar style.  The riff that permeates through the song carries the whole thing, and I enjoy his choice of melody for the outro, which is coupled with enough bite to prevent the song from becoming wet through. It is the guitar that may save this album from quickly sinking into the huge quagmire of forgotten, fallen from glory indie bands.

Bernard Butler takes a minimalist approach to the production, with the drums choosing few colours so that the simple melodies of the guitar and vocals shine through. The violin and keyboard are also subtle and remain in the background; adding another simple welcoming layer.

It’s easy to be cynical of the heavy doses of sentimentality on The Colourful Life, due partly to the overzealous zest in which the lyrics are sung , but it is aptly fitting of the way you can feel when you’re a teenager;  life has a lot less problems and a lot more potential to go in so many different directions. I just hope their second album moves in the right direction.