Canon Blue - Colonies
[Rumraket]

Virginian-born Daniel James’ recent life story has been wrought with tragedy and distress. The death of a close friend prompted him to return home from his adopted town of New Orleans, a matter of weeks before the catastrophic flooding that devastated that area. Such events would force even the most stone-hearted of individual into a period of contemplation.

James, though, has gone one better, adopting the Canon Blue moniker and channeling his experiences into debut record “Colonies”. What the world doesn’t need though, is another whiskey-stained troubadour. Thankfully, as Canon Blue, Daniel James leapfrogs all of these pessimistic pitfalls and instead presents a kaleidoscopic suite of styles.

There is an air of catharsis about “Colonies”, as James sets about exorcising the ghosts of his recent past. Sure there is plenty of sadness and regret on this record, but this is far out-weighed by the hope, optimism and celebration held within his compositions and lyrics. This album is all about looking forward to the future.

On “Pilguin Pop” James sings about “colouring the background of the landscape”, the angelic opening strains pushing the grey and gloom away, much like morning sunshine does to lingering rain clouds.

Of course, since the album manifests through personal experience, there is plenty of scope for Daniel James to look retrospectively. “Rum Days’” beguiling mix of colliding electro beats and fragmented violin scratches reaches a climatic, but foggy, chorus that is wrapped in sparkling chimes. It would seem James is moving on, but he soon poignantly reminds us that he is ‘trying not to forget anything’.

“Colonies" triumphs, though, through its ambitious arrangements. It would be easy to lump this album in with the indietronic crowd, but those who do are just not listening hard enough. It’s full of lavish orchestral compositions, neo-folk, electronica and even touches of space-rock. All in all, it is a real hodgepodge of styles.

Most impressive, though, is James’ soaring Buckley meets Scott Walker vocal range, evident on tracks like the skewed pop/electro of “Mother Tongue” and the uplifting “Pale Horse”. Not only that, but across several tracks this young musician displays a natural aptitude for the anthemic pop chorus, an aspect of his songwriting ability that reels you (as the listener) back to a number of songs time after time.

Most of these personal songs were written on his grandmother’s upright piano, during a period of reflection. It is remarkable, therefore, how James has turned such (initially) sparse arrangements into the luxuriant and genre-bending tracks that they now are. “Colonies” delights with the scope of its ambition. It doesn’t always work, “Battle Hymn”, for example, runs like a watered down version of Arcade Fire’s “Laika”. But with ambition, comes experimentation and James’ pulls off the majority of these ‘experiments’ with ease.

Stamped with Efterklang’s Scandinavian seal of approval (this record has been issued through their Rumraket imprint) and produced by members of Grizzly Bear, “Colonies” may have been inspired by tragedy, but it is most definitely a record that portrays hope. This album, to paraphrase Jools Holland, is bloody marvelous.

Colonies Track Listing:

01 - Treehouse
02 - Pilguin Pop
03 - Odds and Ends
04 - Pale Horse
05 - Rum Diary
06 - Battle Hymn
07 - Sea Monsters
08 - Target Practise
09 - Mouth to Mouth
10 - Mother Tongue
11 - Baptesme