What A Time To Be Alive it is indeed. What with Boris Johnson and Brexit and, yeah, don’t worry, I won’t go there. Swiftly moving on.
Color Collage are a Brooklyn, New York-based party of six. They describe themselves as an “eclectic indie-pop band that marries modern and vintage sounds together”. With a name like Color Collage and bright, colourful, eye-catching track artwork, I couldn’t help but anticipate a cheerful song, which it is. I was not, however, prepared to be surprised, which I was. All will become clear.
What A Time To Be Alive kicks off with an upbeat summer days vibe. I’m currently wrapped up in two dressing gowns with the heating cranked up hiding from the never-ending wind and misery outside. I miss warmer days so much. The seventies quirky indie-pop vibe brought some much-needed sunshine to my day, where the instrumental is concerned anyway. Where this element never falters in the warmth and cheerful feeling it culminates, the lyrics are something else. Believe it or not, they’re pretty morbid. This is a happy song about technology, love, and death. No, really. I’m not kidding. A guy on his death bed is the first lyrically imposed image we’re gifted.
Although mortality isn’t my favourite everyday topic, I do love surprises. Especially those that push boundaries to bring something different to the scene. The juxtaposition of positive music and morbid lyrics in this track is granted, a bit of a “headfuck” (for lack of a better term) but refreshing all the same.
The lyrics “change my living status to deceased” really stood out to me. It is pretty crazy how much influence technology has over who we are as humans and how we live our lives. Even when we die, we each leave an electronic imprint of ourselves. For a light and upbeat easy listener, this is a subtly thought-provoking song. As I listened to the lyrics, I quickly concluded that What A Time To Be Alive is a subjective statement which by some (to include myself) may come across as sarcastic. I suppose it depends on what floats your boat. Personally, the power of technology freaks me out a little.
To end, the single erupts into what I can only describe as catchy gospel rock ‘n’ roll with big vocals and sublime harmonies. “Hallelujah, what a time to be alive” repeats until reaching a final “hallelujah, what a time to die”.
What A Time To Be Alive is short but sweet. I would assume this is purposeful, and another nod to life itself.
All in all, if you’re up for a cheery existential crisis, you’ve come to the right place. But in all seriousness, this is a great song. Catchy, fun, honest and relatable. Have a listen. It’s out now.
An animated video to accompany the track premieres in eighteen days. You can watch that here:
