Seaway: Colour Blind

Artist: Seaway
Title: Colour Blind
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 23rd October 2015
Reviewed By: Jamie Kerr

I have to put my hands up and say that this release completely passed me by until it came up for review. With all the excitement and anticipation of the more mainstream pop-punk releases this year, I'm completely guilty of being oblivious to Seaway's follow up to their 2013 debut Hoser. In fact I've never really given Seaway much of a listen at all, which is fairly criminal for someone who (almost exclusively) listens to pop-punk. But hey, we all make mistakes, right?

One thing that's evident from opener Slam (and the rest of the album for that matter) is that Colour Blind is devoid of any over production and gimmicky orchestrations, which is a wonderfully refreshing change. It's an instant hit with this listener and unlike a lot of what I've listened to recently, it doesn't require a second listen to decide if I like it. It's very much like pop-punk of old, reminiscent of early The Starting Line and will surely fill pop-punk fans in their late 20s with a feeling of nostalgia. Following track Best Mistake is one of the standout songs with its big riffs and octave chords, along with a catchy as hell chorus to get any room moving.

Following tracks Trick (So Sweet), Freak and Still Weird follow very much the same formula, all excellent in their own way and displaying a slower tempo in places. Stubborn Love is the go to track for me and one that I truly struggled to skip past. By no means a particularly upbeat song but it is wonderfully melodic and just asking to be sung along to. The change in rhythm between chorus and verse is pulled off brilliantly and combined with everything else is one of the best songs I've heard this year.

Big Deal and Airhead fill a nice gap before leading onto Growing Stale which takes on a more serious tone, showing that Seaway aren't just all about bouncy pop-punk and have broad songwriting ability. In fact the only thing that's missing from Colour Blind is the token acoustic song which always seems to be present on the albums of their peers. But it's hardly a black mark against their name, acoustic tracks aren't what makes for a great album but it's always interesting to see how a band handles the stripped-back approach. The remaining three tracks are fairly standard filler songs that you find towards the end of any album. Nothing hugely outstanding but nothing offensive, bringing an end to a very enjoyable listen.

What we have here is a late entrant for one of the pop-punk albums of the year, which may have caught many of us by surprise. Not because Seaway aren't a great band, far from it in fact but mainly because the focus was largely on the follow up albums from Neck Deep, State Champs et al. It's hugely rewarding when you hear an album that you didn't have any expectations for and it leaves a huge impression, which is exactly what Colour Blind has done.