COLOR THEORY LIFE'S FAIRYTALE ALBUM 11TH RELEASE: MAY 29, 2001 REVIEW: JUNE 28, 2001

Brian Hazard must have been involved in a lot of love tragedies, assuming he writes his lyrics based on life experiences. Sung in distinctive style, with a voice capable of the full spectrum and sounds expressing lush harmony, "Life's Fairytale" is the perfect trifle. Color Theory, aka Brian, impresses me with a more varied tempo, more electronics and better songs altogether, than on his previous albums.
"Ponytail Girl", a song spread on the net labelled a Depeche Mode B-side song for their latest album, begins this journey of the most sweet sounding of synthpop records. It's one of the better ones on "Life's Fairytale", with a smart build-up ending in a beautiful chorus. Actually, Brian does indeed sound a little like Martin Gore here.
"Wishing I Had an Umbrella", "Everything I Thought I Had to Be" and "Now I Know", in a Cosmicity remix, are also great examples of this top-of-the-class American synthpop. The only track that genuinely annoys me is the dreadful "Cheerleader", which, with a mix of silly lyrics and a way too "merry" sound for me, drags "Life's Fairytale" down somewhat, but it's still a solid album.
This means, here's another discography I have to investigate and, probably, invest in. I'm not made of money, damnit!

NIKLAS FORSBERG