It’s been more than a year since Crooked Colours released new music, and with the group’s return, they bring with them a whole new style. Taking a side step from the sound behind hits ‘Come Down’, ‘Capricious’ and ‘Another Way’, Crooked Colours are now opting for a more organic “band” feel.
“You’re always a little apprehensive when you bring new stuff out and ‘Flow’ is a little bit different to what we’ve done in the past. So we were kind of nervous to see what the reception would be but it’s been really good so we’re stoked,” band member Phil Slabber says. “[The change] wasn’t too conscious it was just a track that we made and it turned out the way it did. [We] didn’t think about it too much. We looked at the whole album, for me it was a bit of a standout track so we just decided to go with it. We just felt that it was a really strong tune.”
While the group has said these upcoming tours will be somewhat of a road test for the new sound, which they are currently in the process of rehearsing and fine tuning for the live show, Phil is looking forward to being able to have songs that are more flexible for performing on stage – as opposed to their previous sound.
“That was at the forefront of writing this album, was that we really wanted to do the live band-ey kind of stuff,” he says. “We find it quite hard with the last stuff to translate it live, just because it’s really hard as a three piece to perform electronic stuff live and be able to tour it. So this is definitely going to be more us having fun on stage.”
As part of the road test, Crooked Colours will stop by Lorne Hotel for a free show, visiting a town they’ve never been before. “I don’t think we’ve ever been down that way, which is really cool and I’m keen to check it out because Falls stops down that way,” he says.
The visit also comes several weeks after RUFUS stopped by in Geelong, performing a massive show. The band are one that Crooked Colours admire and have respected as industry leaders since they supported them on tour a few years ago.
“That’s the first kind of bigger band that we toured with and that was where we took direction from business wise and career wise and how to carry yourself and how to approach the whole touring thing,” Phil says. “It’s just a professionalism about it. They’ve done it as well as you can probably do it in terms of a career path, so we take a lot of inspiration from them.”
Chances are they won’t be performing free shows for much longer, so before they follow the trajectory of their idols, it’s well worth hitting the coast to be one of the first few to hear their new sound and return to the industry.
When & Where: Free show @ Lorne Hotel, Lorne – March 12 & Northcote Social Club, Melbourne April 5.
Written by Amanda Sherring
