In part the sense of familiarity imparted by Colder's new material speaks to how ahead of the curve his music was back in 2003 when he first signed to Trevor Jackson's revered Output label. Opening with the ascending distorted bass of the album's title track, Colder quickly paints the aesthetic he is going for. Cool piano keys fall gently as the musician's understated vocals softly monotone a rhythm of their own, and the song sits in a jazz-like state of freeform beauty. It will be familiar to fans of existing Colder material, yet it still sounds modern and fresh.
As an album Many Colours delivers a tonally and thematically consistent experience, from beginning to end it is like a midnight swim outdoors - a deep, dark and sleekly sensual experience. Midnight Fever dares to add a little warmth and femininity to the album, guest vocals from Owlle creating a sultry contrast to Nguyen Tan's deadpan delivery. Elsewhere we experience dark, chugging and sleek mechanical workouts on tracks like Your Kind, which sounds like Junior Boys at their most techno.
With less than 40-minutes of music, Many Colours is a short album, particularly considering how long fans have had to wait for it. Yet each of the nine tracks here are perfectly formed. Closing on the sinister sounding rhymes clicks, snaps and slow piano chords of Silence we are left wanting more even if the closing refrain of "silence is golden" suggests Colder doesn't want to give it to us.
Many Colours is released on 6 November. Listen to album tracks Turn Your Back and Many Colours below.
