If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past three or four years of its seven year history, you would have come across a handful of posts on the Chicago, IL-based psych rock band Secret Colours. Interestingly, the band recorded and released their self-titled debut and their sophomore effort, Peach, the band’s initial lineup featured six members; however, by the time they went into the studio to record Positive Distractions 1 and Positive Distractions 2, the band went through a massive lineup change that left Tommy Evans (vocals, guitar) and Justin Frederick (drums) as the only members remaining from the original sextet. And with the recruitment of long-time Chicago music scene friends Eric Hehr and Mike Novak, the band went through a decided change in sonic direction — partially influenced by necessity and as a result of being artists, who recognize that life pushes them forward and towards new influences and techniques.
Up until recently, some time had passed since I had last written about them and in that period of the past few years, the band went through yet another lineup change in which its founding member Tommy Evans, along with Mike Novak remain; but with its newest lineup featuring Max Brink (bass) and Matt Yeates (drums), the band find themselves pushing their sound in completely new and different directions on their latest full-length effort Dream Dream; in fact, the album’s material finds the band drawing more from guitar pop and garage rock, while retaining elements of the 60s psych rock sound that first captured the attention of the blogosphere. And as you may recall, album single “Changes in Nature” was a swooning and sweetly urgent love song reminiscent of XTC’s “Mayor of Simpleton” but with a subtly lysergic vibe. Interestingly enough, “Save Me,” Dream Dream‘s latest single manages to mesh contemporary jangling guitar pop with psych rock in a way that feels anachronistic — could the song have been released during the 60s? Or AM rock’s heyday? Or in 2017? If it weren’t for the slick production, you wouldn’t be able to tell; but perhaps more important, the single reminds listeners that the band can craft incredibly infectious, hook-driven rock with dexterous guitar work.
