Columbia Mills have released their highly anticipated sophomore album ‘CCTV’. 2019 saw the band release two singles from the album; ‘Strange Game’ and ‘Who Am I Supposed To Talk To Now?’ which garnered huge radio support here at Indie Buddie and in the UK including John Kennedy Radio X, RTE Radio 1, Ed Smith (Today FM) choosing the band as his Play Irish Artist of the week and ‘Recent and Decent’ on Today FM, Dan Hegartys (2FM) Track of The Week, and heavy rotation on Paul Mc Loones Today FM show, as well as heavy airplay across all national and regional radio stations. 2020 has already seen the release of ‘UNDERSTAND’ (31/01/20), the third single from ‘CCTV’ which also received huge radio support.
With passion exuding from each melty, infectious melody, rich rhythmic progression and superb guitar lament ‘CCTV’ is quite the first rate body of work from Columbia Mills. These guys don’t pull punches, they give this album their all, entwining electronic elements into their alternative indie rock to create an album that holds you in animated suspense while the spinning sublime instrumentation, intricate layering and wonderful pacing intoxicate and invade your mind.
From the start this album is a whirlwind. The gripping heartfelt ‘Car Crash TV’ begins our breathtaking journey into the album. To be honest, I was totally consumed within this track’s melancholic tone, soft instrumental build and utterly beautiful, raw presentation. The twinkling ethereal guitars encase Fiachra Treacy’s warm emotive vocals in a wispy delicate coating as the track progresses to its more distorted electronic half. Like a masterful puppeteer Treacy’s vocals control the tone and ambiance of the tracks within this album. He has the power to pull tears from your eyes as he digs beneath the surface and unravels the listeners joy, pain and thrills and it is from here the tracks flourish from.
The band use synths and dizzying electronics to build the songs and ferment them into either a dazing dark crescendo like in ‘Car Crash TV’ or spiral into an intoxicating, dance-evoking whirl as in the infectious pulses of ‘Understand’. The synth elements within each track either flicker with tantalizing illumination providing sweet flirtatious moments between the rich indie backdrop or drape the songs in crashing twisting and asphyxiating soundscapes.
‘Isolate’, ‘Who Am I Supposed To Talk To Now?’ and ‘The Greatest Love’ are a mesmerising display of artistic flair and proficient musicianship, evoking complex themes and emotions of lonliness, guilt and depression.
The band flood their tracks with emotive instrumentation as they surge smoky downcast atmospheres with lamenting pines or western- esque warm tones on guitar. The guitars soar and ooze rich textures and almost convey the characters within the tracks while braided beneath are rooted bass lines and pulsing drums. ‘You’re Not The Answer’, ‘Strange Game’, ‘Heart And Soul’ and ‘Trees’ convey this perfectly as Columbia Mills immerse striking earnest lyrics in time stopping soundscapes.
The lyrical content in this album is profoundly poetic. Lines like “You said watching you control yourself, Is like watching blood dry”, “Crawled through the shit of old romance” and “Or is it in the vacuum of the struggle Where our love always thrives” shroud the album in dark times and griited struggles. Columbia Mills present these honest and gripping themes with outstanding elegance and grace. At times Treacy’s vocals are icy and almost matter of fact in his portrayal of these lyrics however he still manages to depict heart breaking emotion through his delivery.
Columbia Mills bring the album to a sublime end with ‘Mirror On The Front Seat’. The track blossoms superbly with glistening guitars and a brooding indie rock ballad -esque soundscape. It is beautifully crafted, lush in its intricacies yet simple in its approach. There is a warm country element to this track that evokes images of a dry desert night while the glistening airy guitar paints the sky an indigo hue. The loneliness and isolation is briefly lightened with warm instrumental builds while a sustained fuzz and steady beat trap tension beneath the emotive velvety vocals. Once again the band build the track allowing it to unravel for the dynamic thumping crescendo. It’s a spine tingling and utterly superb finale.
There are so many textures, sounds and wonderful elements within ‘CCTV’. Columbia Mills are only on their second album and their maturity and ability to grasp your very soul with their tunes is so precise and powerful it is mesmerising. ‘CCTV’ is a moving, intoxicating album with solid musicianship. The listener beholds musical majesty, depth and a mystical quality which bewitches with every track. The bands layering and building of the songs is first rate and clean while the indie rock, electronic hybrid sound is seamless and exquisite. This is a band you need to know, they have achieved so much with ‘CCTV’. It is exciting to imagine what Columbia Mills will release next
Stream ‘CCTV’ below
Author : Danu
