Oh dear… I think I’ve missed something. How is this an album? More importantly, what kind of record exec would sign this? That one’s not rhetorical. A very good exec, naturally. This debut album by English sixth-formers Cajun Dance Party will no doubt fly off the shelves and soon infect our lives through every available medium a la The Kooks.
Speaking of them, the thing that gets me most upset (it actually upsets me) about the prospect of hearing these songs repeatedly over the coming months, is that the singer has obviously sat in his room for hours trying to make himself sound exactly like the Kooks’ lead vocalist. You know, that horribly-accented, whining voice that’s supposed to be like “well-British and fit”… and that… This limp, paint-by-number album is the unpalatable mutation of the post-punk revival done brilliantly by acts like Bloc Party, Interpol, Art Brut etcetera. What once was fresh and inspiring has been turned trite and mundane. It’s just depressing when something like this comes along just because a record company thought it could make a few quid out of it.
I’m being harsh; it’s really not that bad an album. There are a few ok songs, the title track ‘Colourful Life’ is good enough, and if they had a different singer, and 5 years more experience, they could be ok at best. My issue is that they’ve tried so hard to be unique and quirky, that it just feels ultra-contrived. They bring nothing new to the table and do it just as badly as the rest of the NME-touted juveniles. For me, it boils down to the triumph of bands that can make money over those who can make music, even on supposedly “indie” labels. But if you loved the Kooks, and Cajun Dance Party sounds like your ticket, then sit tight, it’ll probably be assaulting us over the airwaves, making you want to rip out your eardrums, in no time.
Rating: 5.5 – 1.5 (for the singer’s voice) – 1.3 (for blatant lack of originality) – 2.1 (because I really hated listening to this) = shit album.