First and foremost, Ivory, the debut release from the synth duo Colours, is a sonically sex-drenched affair. Electronic earworms slink through synthetic swells with Kyle Tamo’s seductive croon gyrating in a realm somewhere between Crosses and The Weeknd. Often starting with one of Morgan Alley’s wet midtempo beats or with a thickly flanged synth, each song builds its electropop pulses alongside Tamo’s breathy falsetto until it reaches an intense climax of layered harmonies.
“Monster”, the first single and video released off of Ivory, might serve as the best example of what Colours has to offer. The dark synth of each verse is punctuated by Tamo’s coy rasp and Alley’s slow and thick percussive strokes. The chorus layers synthetic textures and its most Weeknd-like falsetto hook. The bridge rises with a simple squealing guitar over a warblingly gothic synth before the song explodes back into the chorus.
While “Monster” epitomizes Colours’ sound, it also points to some of the band’s insufficiencies—particularly the repetitive standard pop song structures that sometimes make the band’s midtempo beats feel sluggish and tiresome. Because of this formulaic quality, sometimes the songs feel interchangeable. But, as on “Lawless” and “Slow”, not to mention “Monster” and “Mind Games”, the perfect hook can grab you out of any EDM doldrums, as Tamo’s R&B vocal formations indulge in the sexiness of Colours’ particular brand of electropop.