Living Colour album review

Dec 29 2009 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

AMERICAN hard rockers Living Colour blast back in style with their first album in five years.

The New York outfit still features long-serving members Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish, and the multi-dimensional sound of Chair harks back to their early-Nineties prime.

Ever-willing to blend a diverse range of styles, the band’s latest magnum opus sees them indulging in their characteristic funk-rock with elements of jazz and blues thrown in for good measure.

Opener Burned Bridges finds the all-black crew in the mood for hardcore thrash, recalling their industrial-strength 1993 metal collection Stain.

Modern soul gets a look-in too, most notably on the blissful Behind The Sun, while there’s a sacred steel workout on Bless Those (Little Annie’s Prayer).

While key Colour influences like Bad Brains - the punk - and Hendrix - the solos - are in evidence throughout, there’s still room for a gorgeous folk-pop moment like Young Man, which harks back to the band’s touchstone Solace Of You.

The band have always shown a strong awareness of political and social issues, and on tracks like DecaDance they rail against injustice as seen through the eyes of main lyricist Reid.

Both he and fellow guitarist Glover keep the album moving along at a cracking pace with consistently tremendous riff work, while Wimbush’s playful bass efforts add big-time to the classic Living Colour feel that’s only ever been rivalled by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More.

They may have kept a low profile in recent years, but Chair is sure to help a whole new generation of rock fans discover one of the genre’s more interesting exponents.

The album is out now on Megaforce Records.