(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): COLORED MOTH

Band: COLORED MOTH

Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Hardcore / Screamo / Post-Metal / Ambient / Noise / Experimental / Prog
Related artists: ?.
Country: Berlin GERMANY
Years Active: 2013-present
Song: "Decay Accelerating Factor"
Album: "Fragmenting Tensions"
Year: 2016
For fans of: Carved Up, These Arms Are Snakes, Russian Circles, Jungbluth, Botfly, Shellac, Mogwai, Apollo 18, Kowloon Walled City, Cold Craving, Towers, Ephemera, Brighter Arrows, Blacklisters, At The Drive In, Ladder Devils, Die Princess Die, The Minor Times, The Catalyst, Lara Korona, Since By Man, Frodus and Ruptures.

Label(s): Twisted Chords Records / Light Bulb Records
This post's artist is from the June 2016 Mix. This is track #6.

You can download: the September 2016 Mix#9 right here or get the new October 2016 Mix#10 here.

I'd never heard of COLORED MOTH when I opened up my OMSB inbox sifting for new bands to review. The band cited specific references to this blog and bands reviewed, such as Russian Circles, These Arms Are Snakes, Animal Faces, Frodus, Cassus and Daniel Striped Tiger so right away I was stoked. Alex then cited influences ranging from Botch to Off Minor so then I began salivating onto the floor. Although the three-piece have many bands' influences present, COLORED MOTH has a sound all their own and it's eclectic, well written, challenging and fucking fantastic. Let's take a look at the discography, shall we? We shaaaaaaaaaallllll.

In 2014, about six months after their inception, they released a two song 'Rehearsal EP' with demo versions of tracks three and four off of 2015's 'Ever Dared to Dream Before', so let's just start in 2015. This five song EP was released on 12" thanks to Light Bulb Records and is a more than decent starting point for any heavy band. Noise aka "...the Tomorrow People" opens the record followed by "Night Skies" which weighs in next at a hefty 5:58. This song flies all over the place, but always transitions in a way that'll have you bobbing along and never leave you lost. By two minutes the song has really picked up and the experimental side crashes headfirst with the hardcore side, creating a beautiful and dangerous vortex of sound. "Craniotomy" is a very intriguing song that wastes no time letting you know it's going full tilt from the get-go, and I'd say it has a Ruptures feel to it. It also has some of the best vocal work that includes a nice trade-off delivery at 45 seconds in and reminds me a bit of Botch's "Dali's Praying Mantis". Wait...I just jammed that song too and they are definitely kin, and I mean that in the best way possible. "Duckwalk to the Edge of Space" has striking similarities to the bass-heavy instrumental songs by Off Minor and the quirky, post-rock/post-hardcore of Frodus and Shellac. "Tragedy on Saturn" takes the cake. It takes the wedding cake. Basically any celebratory cake. This silly joke just means the song is really good. Like, really really good. Beginning with Russian Circles worship, the song rides a sexy wave of instru-metal until 2:15 when the raspy, screamed vocals come in and the song breaks into post-hardcore goodness with hints of screamo. If you haven't checked out the active band Carved Up then I'd recommend doing so now because the two bands have a lot in common.

2016's 'Fragmenting Tensions' was just released on May 17th, 2016 via Twisted Chords Records. This thing is a force to be reckoned with. "Decay Accelerating Factor" is the first song on the record, most likely because it's the best song on the record. Beginning with some noodly guitars, the song switches to more straightforward groovin' screamo at 40 seconds (think Logs and Wild Guess) and at 1:24 the song swings boldly into These Arms Are Snakes territory with a building, sassy incline that booms big once 2:08 hits and is one of the highlights of the record. This breakdown has woven intricate riffs inside and leads back to the Hot Cross-y riffing by the song's end. Just fucking stellar stuff. Following that banger is "LZRDSNC" which is a mutated beast of noise. Sounding at times like Ruptures and at others Die Princess Die, with a long, weaving midsection that ventures into some very unstable and trippy territory. This 5:54 mindfuck comes complete with a stellar finish that begins its descent at 4:20 and brings venomous screaming and squealing guitars by the five minute mark. "Dystopian" follows with 1:24 of ambient noise, not unlike track five's "Void" and track eight's "Reminiscence". "Second Sight - Craving of the Id" is an interesting song (complete with serene female singing) along with title track "Fragmenting Tensions" (a jarring rock/hardcore song whose guitar riffs scream Rye Coalition) and "Fragile Spiral" (another bass heavy romp-a-tron) but goddamn that "Power Outage Monologue" is too good. The sassy and chunky intro gets me singing along to, "Is this what you call instinct?" in no time and is slightly reminiscent of a dancier Yage, which is repeated in the middle and again at the end of the song. In fitting COLORED MOTH style, in fact twice in the middle of the track, the band experiments with the parts resulting in it nearly disintegrating into nothingness.

Truly a unique and demanding listen, COLORED MOTH will reward you with so many different styles and awesome parts that you won't know what to do with yourself, thus causing you to repeat yourself and play their new LP all over again.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2014 - Rehearsal digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Ever Dared to Dream Before 12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

2016 - Fragmenting Tensions 12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2016) COLORED MOTH - "Decay Accelerating Factor" (from 'Fragmenting Tensions')