Music Review Monday: Treedom – The Color King

After listening to Deerhunter, Cinema Novo, Oh! Brother, and now Treedom; I think it would be a safe assumption to say Atlanta’s music scene is not only alive and kicking it has a little something for everyone, especially those looking for something offbeat. So, you all are in for a treat as this week we will be taking a listen to Treedom’s The Color King.

Treedom’s first full length release, The Color King, is a trip back in time to a land far away : the 90’s. Taking cues from such acts as, Monster Magnet and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; The Color King is a folksy trip through funky, spacey prog rock. And to top off this musical ensemble the album is accompanied by a strange Sci-fi theme (concept album), and what you have is something akin to Rush meeting up with Good Old War for a jam session, after both finished up listening to Parliament.

At eight tracks it seems like the band tried their best to get in as many play styles as possible, from the decidedly instrumental post-rock song “Marmota monax”, to the walls of sound in the shoegazey track “Sawtooth.” There is a great sense of exploration of sound throughout the album. Each song starts off with great instrumentals and then we are given the vocals, but not before we are treated to some pretty impressive openings.

Though the play style is never one way or the other; the one consistent element is the playing ability through out: it’s fantastic. You get grove heavy guitar playing and subtle drum playing on some of the more funky psych-ish tracks; on other tracks you will hear shimmering melodies and sunny vocals which will remind some of folk or indie – pop. This genre mish-mash rarely if ever misses the mark when it come to instrumentation; basically, even if you hate them you won’t be able to say these guys don’t know their way around their respective instruments.

The Color King is a throwback in that they definitely have the feel of a progressive rock band from the seventies, but they throw in plenty of modern elements that fans of old and new rock are sure to love. What is great is that the group does sometimes get caught up in some of the more tried and true tropes of the genre, but right when you think you know what’s coming next they switch it up and incorporate some interesting stylistic element. In the end what we get with The Color King is a well-rounded album that newcomers to the genre can cut their teeth on, yet that will still satisfy veteran prog lovers.

Overall Score: 3.5/5

Favorite Tracks : The Color King , Marmota monax , Sawtooth , Vesuvius

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