Spain Colored Orange “Sneaky Like A Villain”
Opening with a lovely harmony-filled intro, The Spain Colored Orange are a Houston Texas group with an affection for all kinds of music from The Beatles to Radiohead. Lead by trumpet player Eric Jackson, and lead singer Gilbert Alfaro, “Who Am I?” is psyche pop with jazz touches here and there and the tone shifts around making it impossible to pigeonhole the band, but it does remind me of Camper Van Beethoven. “Hide” is lead by synths, beats and Gilbert’s sleepy vocal. Pop fans will enjoy the highlight tune “Cheap Thrills” – full of playful piano and so many melodic changes, you’d swear it’s Bryan Scary. The band is fearless, and it’s quirky shifts in tone and tempo can be very challenging to sit through. Buried through this are some hooks, like “Better Left Alone” is like synth and horn heavy High Llamas. Musical nods to XTC are on “Birds and Bees” and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd on “Uh, Oh Trouble” each with a horn solo. But as often as it succeeds, it also fails to salvage songs that cannot decide where to go like “You Think You Know” and the dreadful “Better Left Alone.” I would recommend this to diehard psyche-pop fans who are into a musical melange. Very much like a fried egg and peanut butter sandwich, it’s definitely an acquired taste.
La Snacks “New Fangled” EP
