Album Review: Colour Me Wednesday - 'I Thought It Was Morning'

Although cute and cuddly on the outside, it quickly becomes abundantly clear that UK left wing feminists, Colour Me Wednesday write music that doesn’t just make you grin, but it also makes you think. Their debut LP I Thought It Was Morning is an accomplishment and a half, serving up a rich slice of engaging indie pop punk with a belligerent political and social conscience.

The kick off track on the album, ‘Shut’ is by far the most addictive and grabbing on the album. It’s a song about the frustration that comes with wanting to change the world, but not exactly knowing how to go about it. The light, flossy vocals, plucky guitar progressions and cheerful percussion (there’s even a harmonica in the mix) fit with the lyrics like a triangle would in a square, particularly in ‘Holiday From Your Life’ and ‘Carefree.’

However, the fact that listeners can’t quite grasp the emotion in the song just by the tone of the vocals and instrumentals alone, as they might with a male fronted punk band, means that Colour Me Wednesday begs active listeners to look a bit deeper into lyrics that discuss everything from war, being alone and economic disadvantage. ‘Don’t Waste Your Breathe’ is one of the best examples of this, as about half way through the vocalist delivers a fluffy solo that almost deceives the frank candour of the song’s message.

Colour Me Wednesday don’t hover on one stylistic trend for long. The album’s fifth track, 'Lost In The High Street', is buried in a despairing punk attitude, accented by the use of distorted drums, grinding drums and drawn out, echoing vocals. Similarly, ‘You’re Not My Number One Bastard’ injects a jolting shot of punk, and it’s here that the band brings to mind wild punk acts such as The Smith Street Band and Bomb The Music Industry!

‘Bitter Boys’ and ‘Cat Hair’ have a bite and attitude that is directed at an ambiguous ‘you’, and lets up a bit on the subtle political messages. Colour Me Wednesday are constantly changing it up, making I Thought it was Morning a smorgasbord of the up and coming politically minded UK punks.

It can be a bit confusing at times when you’re wanting to bob your head and jump around a bit to 'I Thought It Was Morning', when simultaneously, the album ferociously demands from the beginning for you to sit up and take immediate notice to what Colour Me Wednesday are damn well trying to tell you. If you’re looking for a punk band with a laser point social conscience and a bit of ferocious female drive, then this is the band for you.

1. Shut 
2. Holiday From Your Life 
3. Carefree
4. Unicorn In Uniform 
5. Lost On The High Street 
6. Bitter Boys 
7. Don't Waste Your Breath (Ft.Perkie) 
8. (I'm Not Coming To Your) BBQ 
9. Cat Hair 
10. You're Not My Number One Bastard 
11. Purge Your Inner Tory