“blissful, shimmery...”
-Rolling Stone
“both nostalgic and caught in a moment that feels never-ending”
-NPR
"an unexpected pleasure"
-Pitchfork.com
“music that's light as a feather and ephemeral as a dream.”
-Interview Mag
“if there was ever a band to spearhead the recent renaissance of dream-pop fever then this is the act to get invested in”
-Aquarium Drunkard
“enough upbeat pep in its step to make the dog days of summer a little cooler”
-I Guess I'm Floating
"captures the essence of teen dreams"
-USA Today
"Fall for the band’s dreamy electronica sound"
-MAGNET Magazine
"Eclectic, heartbreaking and full of shoegaze glory, the Los Angeles, Calif. band's latest is their best yet"
-AOL/Spinner
"Friday afternoon surprise"
-MSN
“songs as sweet as blood orange flavored lollipops and as hazy as the golden hour sun on the Santa Monica pier”
-yvynyl
“Within the folds of atmospheric pop laced with shivery electronica “
-My Old Kentucky Blog
"this is a band that should no longer go ignored."
-Consequence of Sound
“perfect dream-pop “
-FensePost
“only get better with each record”
-The Owl Mag
“a smooth ride of sun, sea and sweeping sands”
-The 405
“a rather fantastic EP”
-Death + Taxes
“they’ll be going places soon enough”
-North American Scum
“Jesus what a great song”
-Life After Nirvana
“ beautiful, lifting fusion of gentle vocals and soaring synth-based instrumentals”
-Kata Rokkar
"It's amazing how effortless the band is able to sound while packing in all these feel good sounds."
-We All Want Someone To Shout For
"what to do when the heat has got you down? Distract yourself with a summertime playlist, duh. And we have the perfect addition- Letting Up Despite Great Faults."
-The Music Slut
“This is the kind of summery music that invented the term ‘summery music’”
-32ft/second
“I gotta tell you straight away it's one damn good song.”
-Against The Odds
“Get ready folks, as this is something really special.”
-Austin Town Hall
“like the Jesus & Mary Chain smothered in honey”
-The Devil Has The Best Tuna
“filled with delicious indie-pop gems”
-Some Velvet Blog
“splendid works of magic”
-Burning World
“bedroom-project-turned-pop-darlings”
-Buzzbands.la
“amazing, shoe-gazing indie-pop”
-DefineUs
“Soft indie pop vocals with big electro sounds and thick guitars make for a perfect storm with these guys”
-Each Note Secure
“transcend influences and deliver something that is both unique and arresting.”
-The Ash Gray Proclamation
“If they’d occurred a decade ago they would have run alongside Lush, the Pale Saints and the Drop Nineteens and would very definitely have been signed to 4AD”
-Magnetic Magazine
"feel-good melancholy"
-Exclaim!
"4/5"
-Baeble
"fuzzed-out guitars, blippy synths, and the free-floating vocals"
-Tea Party Boston: Interview 3/13/10
"A-"
-Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
"The instrumentation was consistently top notch"
-Music Induced Euphoria: Noise Pop Concert Review 2/27/10
“I can’t get enough of it”
-Off The Radar
“Charmingly brilliant stuff”
-The Pop! Stereo
“sweet, hazy, noisy greatness”
-DBF-Music.com
"magical songs that make you fall instantly in love"
-The Indie Music Database: Video of the Week 5/10/10
"they’re going to blow up very soon."
-The Tape
"beautiful euphoric tones"
-Einstein Music Journal
"a perfect marriage of M83 and Slowdive"
-QRO Magazine
"4 stars"
-Groovemine
"good-for-your-health audio"
-Ohh! Crapp
“evokes sunshine induced feelings while still sounding like a rainy day”
-DeckFight
"Bashfully bittersweet shoegaze"
-Earworm, Much Music
"so good"
-kid_for_today
"we already love these up-and-comers"
-Sheena Beaston
"one to watch"
-Scottish Friction
"beautifully somber soundscapes with a clear pop aesthetic"
-The Sky Report
“acts as the perfect accompaniment to a lazy afternoon lying in the sun and helps to make long hot summer days that much more enjoyable & relaxing”
-Eclectically Challenged
“electronic pop masterminds”
-Knox Road
“pop-y, dreamy vocals”
-The Fox Is Black
“One of the most underrated pop bands in the United States”
-Twentyseven Views
“ gives us is a song that’s much more enjoyable than perhaps our teenage years ever were.”
-In Your Speakers
“songs that i’m not afraid to call ‘perfect’”
-Me, And All My Friends
"simply gorgeous"
-BandsOfTheBay.com
"the perfect slouchy cableknit for breezy days and changing seasons."
-Luxury Wafers
"enchanted melodies that make you feel all sorts of warm and wonderful."
-No Conclusion
"loving every single minute of it"
-Indiehere
"the perfect soundtrack for a teenage romance."
-In This Week
"The perfect soundtrack for snow gazing out a train window."
-5 Acts
"dreamy LA-based band"
-Welikeit.indie
"the band’s fuzzy hazy sense of pop is quite filling"
-TwentySeven Views
"the video of Our Younger Noise has ‘Hello Summer’ written all over on it"
-AudioPorn Central
"all kinds of shimmery ambient crescendos crashing like the waves in the Pacific. "
-Cause=Time
"will whisk you off to somewhere far from here"
-CYSTSFTS
"wash of shoegaze dream pop"
-Impressionable Youth
The Colors Aren't You Or Me
Letting Up Despite Great Faults Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The colors aren't me but I think they're everyone
The colors aren't you
I think I'm missing something that's not here
You find that I'm noy myself again
You try to end the same
Don't lose your panic ways
Don't crush your perfect scene
The gray comes off your weight but you will stay in place
I'll learn to stay with all the lows you'll soon create
But it's okay, I'll pull away in time
I won't be the one again to say it's time
It's not the same here
You lost your ring here
In Letting Up Despite Great Faults’s “The Colors Aren’t You Or Me,” the singer seems to be undergoing a transformation, with the roles of the two people in the relationship shifting. The first couplet suggests that the singer’s partner (previously the stable one) has changed, leaving the singer as the restless party. The second line expresses the idea that despite this change, the colors (presumably the emotions or moods they evoke) are not unique to the singer, but part of the shared experience between them. This could suggest that despite feeling like they are the one going through changes, the singer recognizes that their partner is also experiencing a shift.
The chorus has a more reflective, introspective feel. The third line (“The colors aren’t you”) is repeated, as if to convince the singer of that fact. The following lines could be interpreted as the singer feeling lost or empty without their partner, but trying to resist the urge to beg them to come back. Instead, they suggest that they will find the strength to pull away when the time is right. The phrase “Don’t crush your perfect scene” could be directed towards either the partner or the singer themselves – a reminder not to ruin the good things they have by clinging too tightly.
The final verse seems to acknowledge that the changes are still ongoing, but the singer is growing more accepting of them. The reference to the “gray” suggests that the partner was once weighed down by something (depression, perhaps?) but has found a way to move past it. Despite this, the singer seems to be bracing themselves for more lows that will come from these transitions. The repeat of the phrase “It’s not the same here” could be taken as a final grieving of the past, but also a statement of acceptance that things will never be exactly the same again.
Line by Line Meaning
You were the sea but now I'm the reckless one
I used to be calm and collected like the sea, but now I am impulsive and careless.
The colors aren't me but I think they're everyone
I don't identify with the bright colors around me, but I believe they bring joy to others.
The colors aren't you
You don't seem affected by the colors around us.
I think I'm missing something that's not here
I feel like there's something important that's absent from our current situation.
You find that I'm not myself again
You notice that I am behaving out of character once more.
You try to end the same
You attempt to conclude the situation in the way you usually do.
Don't lose your panic ways
Don't let go of the actions that help you deal with stressful situations.
Don't lose your sophomore ring
Don't forget the experiences that have shaped who you are.
Don't crush your perfect scene
Don't ruin the idealized image of the situation you have in your mind.
The gray comes off your weight but you will stay in place
You may feel less burdened, but you will still remain in the same situation.
I'll learn to stay with all the lows you'll soon create
I will work on enduring the negative moments that will come from being around you.
But it's okay, I'll pull away in time
It's fine, because eventually I will distance myself from you.
I won't be the one again to say it's time
I won't be the one to initiate the end of our situation again.
It's not the same here
Things have changed since the last time we were in this situation.
You lost your ring here
Something important to you was lost while we were in this place.
Contributed by Lillian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@grntea000
🤤