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ALBUM: Colours in the Sun // ARTIST: Voyager
Flexing oscillating light and lucid shade, Perth electro-progsters Voyager unfurl in bubbling, kaleidescopic fashion with their seventh studio album Colours in the Sun.
Sitting in a unique realm somewhere between modern djent and swooning 80s pop, prog chameleons Voyager have consistently turned heads with their signature tones and decisive evolution. And it's this evolution that has so significantly led to the latest chapter in the Voyager story, with the quintet's upcoming LP Colours in the Sun marking a lush and lavish outing coated in upbeat hooks and synth-soaked melodics amid some weightier grit.
Fittingly kicking off with the bright and flashy Colours, we're greeted with flickering synths and stomping beats as frontman Danny Estrin's new wave vocals soar across the burgeoning riffs below. It's a solid introduction into the current Voyager status quo, hurling in a droning outro breakdown amid the effervescence that leads firmly into the slightly moodier Severomance.
COLOURS (VOYAGER)
Lead single Brightstar pumps up the pop next, while the aptly named Saccharine Dream delivers a candied brawler that significantly showcases the precise pairing of guitarists Simone Dow and Scott Kay as they switch between elegant shreds and drones (with bassist Alex Canion also leaping in with some exquisite tones during the softer breakdowns).
Midway through Colours in the Sun comes the jaunty Entropy, blending bubbling pianos and staccato riffs beneath the unexpected but ever-familiar vocals of Leprous frontman Einar Solberg jumping in for a feature.
ENTROPY FEAT. EINAR SOLBERG (VOYAGER)
For those of the heavier persuasion, the chaotic Reconnected has you covered as drummer Ashley Doodkorte blasts some double kicks through your face between some saloon-like piano licks and darker, drawling melodics, while Now or Never strips back and paints Estrin's acrobatic vocals across some softer arrangements.
Firmly planting back in synth country, Sign of the Times dishes up a neon toe-tapper that equally clasps at the group's pop leanings, before Water over the Bridge ups the grit and busts out some menacing riffs (as can be witnessed in full glory via the guitar walk-through video featuring Dow and Kay).
WATER OVER THE BRIDGE GUITAR WALK-THROUGH (VOYAGER)
Closing out our colourful journey today is the answer to what it would sound like if the classic Rainbow Road Mario Kart level was given a slightly metal makeover, as Runaway unfurls a vivid, keytar-laden love letter to the past, ending this album journey on an extremely bouyant note.
Described by Estrin as being a true reflection of the band, Colours in the Sun is a polished and extensive reflection of the various Voyager shades that seems effortless with its unabashed luster amid the heftier moments. If prismatic prog was a genre, Voyager would be the poster-child with this latest endeavour, and it's this unique and modern take that ultimately proves why this lot have endured in such a niche pocket of the musical real. Whether you're a diehard prog fan or just fancy some retro nostalgia; come taste the rainbow and give Colours in the Sun a whirl.
VOYAGER'S NEW ALBUM COLOURS IN THE SUN IS OUT NOW VIA SEASON OF MIST, BOASTING SOME EXTRA VIVID ALBUM ARTWORK COURTESY OF DRUMMER ASH DOODKORTE. FOR MORE VOYAGER INFO, HEAD HERE.
BY TIANA SPETER