Cajun Dance Party, Colourful Life
While most sixth form students balance their A-levels with thankless Saturday roles in shoe shops and market research call centres, Cajun Dance Party complement their studies with a record deal, production courtesy of Bernard Butler, and an ensuing truckload of hard-sell hype to live up to. It's perhaps not the most stress-free state of affairs. All of this, when considered, makes debut album, The Colourful Life, a particularly impressive result. Tight rhythms and instantaneous refrains carry the album proudly, all positioned in a very natural, unaffected sound.
Where certain contemporaries of the band might display a musicianship beyond their years, The Colourful Life is largely indicative of Cajun Dance Party's age and experience. Not that this is by any means a negative – in fact, it plays a significant part of their charm.
The candour on display in Amylase or The Next Untouchable flows effortlessly and generously, and while the band themselves would likely be the first to underline that age ain't nothing but a number, it's the kind of stripped-down sincerity that a more weathered, self-conscious artist might shy away from.
At a mere nine tracks lasting just over 35 minutes, it's not so much an album as a generous EP. Of course, duration is a minor detail when the quality is of the levels displayed here. However, the appeasing subtlety of The Colourful Life means it's not quite a taut espresso shot; more like the waitress clearing your latte away before you've drunk half of it.
And yet, it's still difficult to fault the aptitude and sparkle that dominates The Colourful Life, as gentle in parts as it is authoritative in others. Cajun Dance Party are sat nonchalantly on top of the world, and seemingly, don't even know it. Rather than The Colourful Life being a masterpiece in itself, it's more a brief – yet highly effective – demonstration of genuine potential. Hey, leave 'em wanting more and all that.
David Torn, Tony Levin, Bill Bruford And Mark Isha
