Colman Gota – Fear The Summer

Colman Gota’s Tape was one of the best albums of 2016. With Mitch Easter in the engineer’s chair and a batch of new tunes, the bar has been raised even higher for his latest LP. With its distinctive vocals, pleasing harmonies, and catchy melodies, you’ll very likely come to the same conclusion as I. Colman Gota’s Fear the Summer is his best work yet.

Uplifting guitars contrast with a less than optimistic viewpoint, making for an engaging dichotomy on the opening title track.

As engaging as this track is, things get even more interesting from here. “What Goes On In My Head” grabs the listener’s attention immediately with its crunchy guitar opening and irresistible melody. And lyrically, I’m betting that the sentiments expressed here will resonate with many of us. The glass-half-empty perspective continues on “For a Reason”, the album’s only piano driven track. Both the piano and lyrical content are highlights here.

The guitar jangle of “What You Want Me To Be” is an example of the kind of ear-candy one might expect from anything recorded at Mitch Easter’s place. As satisfying as that song is, “Call It Quits” instantly grabbed my attention. Anyone who loves good power pop and excellent song writing will dig this track. It could be an anthem for creative people. One big hook from the opening guitar crunch to the closing fade out, “Call It Quits” is 2:33 seconds of pure pop.

Gota’s vocals are very expressive throughout the entirety of “Fear the Summer”. I’m not sure if the quality of his voice is closer to Tom Petty or Mark Knopfler. There’s one thing I am sure of. You’ll hear a great deal more about “Fear the Summer” as the season wears on.

Colman Gota’s Fear the Summer will be available on all digital suspects on April, 24th. but you can pre-order your copy here and now at Kool Kat Musik.