From the opening chords of the frenetic and furious "It's Tomorrow," the self-titled debut by
Overwhelming Colorfast bears an obvious
Hüsker Dü influence, with Bob Reed's voice at times resembling
Bob Mould's. Like
Hüsker Dü, this quartet churns out catchy tunes powered by abrasive guitars and impassioned vocals. Influences aside,
Overwhelming Colorfast proves quite adept at draping its lively melodies with layers of fuzzy guitar on tracks like "Totally Gorgeous Foreign Chick," "My Trip," and "Arrows." The band also delivers a solid cover of
the Beatles' classic "She Said, She Said," injecting the song with a little more muscle than the original version. The album's emphasis on a thick guitar sound could be attributed to the fact that Butch Vig produced the record, shortly before presiding over sessions for
the Smashing Pumpkins' similarly crunch-heavy Siamese Dream. Though certainly not a groundbreaking album,
Overwhelming Colorfast will easily satisfy fans of brisk, post-punk rock & roll. ~ Michael Frey