Always aiming to progress his sound and break new ground, the solo project of Coloured Clocks has done exactly that on his latest record, Castle. Read on for our glowing review of the album, in addition to a much needed update on this artist.

Creeping up on nearly a year since our last review of his album, The Floral Emblem, James Wallace of Melbourne, Australia’s Coloured Clocks has grown immensely on his sixth full length, Castle. Always bordering the line of psychedelia, alternative pop, and infusing it all with surprising twists and turns, he’s still managed to confound his skills into something new and exciting. At this point, we’ve created an incredibly high standard for what to expect, but to no surprise, James has exceeded all expectations and crafted something perfectly up our alley of preference.

Continuously taking inspiration from genre setters like Tame Impala, Flaming Lips, or even Blood Orange, they’re consistently more influences and guidelines into his special brand of sound. Through 13 tracks that come up close to an hour, you’re immediately hit with a generally more relaxing and calming vibe than what we had previously experienced. Relying on a wall of synthesizers to create the atmosphere, we couldn’t help but notice that the entirety of Castle seems to be a lot more vocal forward than previous records. We absolutely adore James’ vocals as they’re so unique to what you’re usually hit with, they almost act as an underrated instrument into the mix to further give his music the complexity that it always holds.

While Castle certainly takes a sonic shift and even a minor pivot than what we’re used to, one thing stays true, James’ production skills are out of control. Specific tracks like “Flightless Tigers”, “Not Alright”, and the near 8-minute thriller “Castleworld” are out of control with the tones and moods they were able to achieve. This record feels like a spiritual connection to any of the greatness that the band Pond has put out in the last 10 years, but the entirety of Coloured Clocks’ discography has this signature essence and feel to it that is unable to be copied or emulated by others. The song compositions continually break the mold of the norm and it’s a main factor in why we love this music so much!

If you’ve yet to experience any of Coloured Clocks’ discography, please let this be the reason to explore more. We’ve included the links below to listen, follow along, and of course to keep up with all future releases and information.

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Coloured Clocks pivots his sound on experimental 6th record, "Castle"