Colour Me Wednesday - Counting Pennies In The Afterlife

Rumpelnder, kraftvoller Indiepop mit Punk-Attitüde von einer Girlband, die Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Yoga und Feminismus im Sinn sowie Wolf Alice, Kate Nash und Blake Babies in den Ohren hat.

Die Doveton-Schwestern Jennifer (Gesang) und Harriet (Gitarre, Gesang) gründeten die DIY-Band bereits 2007 in Uxbridge in West London. Nach zahlreichen Wechseln im Lineup sind Jaca Freer (Schlagzeug) und Laura Ankles (Gitarre) ihre aktuellen Mitstreiterinnen. Nebenbei sind sie auch noch in Bands wie The Tuts, Baby Arms oder Sugar Rush! aktiv. Das erklärt vielleicht auch nicht ganz so zahlreichen Veröffentlichungen von Colour Me Wednesday: nach einigen Singles und EPs, die im Eigenvertrieb oder bei kleinen Labels erschienen sind, und nach „I Thought It Was Morning“ (2013) und einem Split-Album mit der Band Spoonboy (2014) ist „Counting Pennies In The Afterlife“ irgendwie erst das zweite reguläre Album des Quartetts.

The album kicks off with the power-punk of ‘Sunriser’; with a guitar and bass line worthy of the Sex Pistols, it’s a track about a broken relationship – “I dreamt it before it even happened… I’m forced to be the strong one again.” – and offers hope and the reclamation of personal power (“I can see the horizon, the sun in rising”). Other stellar power-pop moments occur on ‘Heather’s Left For Dead’, with its Weezer-like guitars and layered vocals, and ‘Disown’, oozing more gorgeous guitar washes.
There is something here for everyone here, with the album covering themes of relationships (‘Tinfoil’) employment (‘Entrepreneur’, wry and Smiths-like), capitalism (‘Boyfriend’s Car’) and male privilege (‘Exposure’), whilst ‘Sad Bride’ is a critique of the institute of marriage – “why would you seal your fate?”.
The album ends with two slower tracks; ‘Take What you Want’, which introduces elements of electronica, and ‘Not my Turf’. Both songs add an introspective note to the end of the album, leaving you much to mull over. There’s a hidden track right at the end too, but I won’t spoil the surprise – you’ll have to listen to find out more! What I will say is that Counting Pennies In The Afterlife offers 11 unaffected songs from the heart, a genuine outpouring of emotion. It’s refreshing because there are no manifestos to beat you over the head with; instead you are hit with a dose of pure, catchy power-pop, and lyrics dealing with personal politics in a capitalist economy.
(get in her ears)