About The Album
Unfamiliar Skies is not a ‘theme’ album or a concept album, though almost all of the songs flow from one into the next. A few themes do crop up, such as those of air and water (as the artwork suggests), the long and winding road, the obsession of a lover scorned and questions of faith and individuality.
Musically, we did want to capture something of the art rock vibe of XTC, early Alan Parsons Project, Frank Zappa, Bent Knee, 10cc, Cardiacs, Tears for Fears, Black Sabbath, and so on … while the work doesn’t particularly sound like any of those, great care was taken to follow the lessons we learned from studying these great artists. No moment was wasted on the final recording, and we worked hard to trim the fat to make something that hopefully engages the listener from stem to stern.
Colouratura is:
Nathan James – voice, keyboards, bass, horn
Ian Beabout – flute, editing, sound design and production
Featuring performances by
Pavlic (Van Gilder)
Eric Holskey (Sabo Cat, Plus Many Others)
Dave Newhouse (The Muffins, Diratz, Moonmen, Proletarians)
Brandon Collins
Damon Waitkus (Jack o’ the Clock)
Michael P. Dawson
Nathan Lestini
Chris Kuskey
Bret Harold Hart (Diratz, Moonmen)
About the Music
1. Corner Store
A tale of seedy characters in the backdrop of a small-town convenience store. As read by the Blind Blue Barber Boys of Baltimore.
2. Parallels
An epic, four-movement suite blurring the lines of jazz, rock, progressive, ambient and punk rock. Themes of individuality in the face of the machine that is modernity. How do we keep true to ourselves?
3. Photograph
Sometimes obsession boils to the brim. A Poe-ish tale of being haunted by the image of a former lover.
4. Nautilus
The one in which we battle the giant squid.
5. Unfamiliar Skies
Suburban heartbreak, and dreams of the stormy skies ahead.
6. Kerouac
On the road, and with a passenger. What do the rocks have to say?
7. Vesuvian Tidepools
The stuff kicks in – and we take a psychedelic head-trip
8. Faith
Questioning the ‘lines the blur the vision of God.’ Do we really have any of the answers?
Whats Being Said!
“The sophomore offering from West Virginia-based Colouratura is comfortably familiar and yet surprisingly fresh. ‘Unfamiliar Skies’ is a diverse and satisfying listen from beginning to end.”
– Steve Roberts (Ut Gret, ZNR Records)
“With excellent production values, finely-crafted compositions and a sterling cast of musicians, as well as outstanding artwork, Unfamiliar Skies marries accessibility with boldness, offering something for (almost) everyone.”
– Raffaella Berry (Fire of Unknown Origin Blog)
“By combining a large variety of styles while maintaining a recognizable sound throughout the album, we can safely declare that the band succeeded in reaching the ultimate goal: creating music for music’s sake.”
– Jacopo Muneratti (Danze D’Architettura, Radio Voce nel Deserto)
“Epic.”
– Mike Keneally
Listen // Buy // Share
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/colouratura
https://colouratura.bandcamp.com/album/unfamiliar-skies