Customer Reviews

Colors in the Wheel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just picked up this album and it was everything I was looking and would expect from Venus Hum . It is an amazing use of electronic manipulation merged with Strean's melodic vocals. Musically it has all the surprises and quirkiness of Bjork but with the ethereal vocal stylings of Imogen Heap.............and to think this album almost didn't get made!! I would definitely recommend it!!

For their third full-length album, Venus Hum change their sound a bit. Rather than effervescent synthy pop, they try out a dreamier, "Colours in the Wheel" embraces a dreamy, swirling brand of electronica -- think Flaming Lips by way of Aphex Twin, with Imogen Heap doing the vocals.

The change is pretty obvious with the first song. "Mood perpetuates mood... tears perpetuate tears/one lie touches the other find..." Annette Strean croons softly over a guitar ballad, which is woven through with thin ribbons of synth. After a brief, surreal interlude, we're off into the album full-force.

Harder electronic songs have their presence -- the sultry, semisexual "Yes and No" with its urgent beats ("My no means no/my yes means yes..."), and the sinuous, ominous electroglitch dancepop of "Do You Want to Fight Me?" These are flanked by brief noodling interludes, and a few softer, sweeter little pop songs.

That changes with the exquisite "Genevieve's Wheel," where Strean murmurs over sparkling, soft-edged electronica about "all the colours in the wheel/the wheel, the wheel." At the halfway point, the album becomes experimental, without losing the catchy edge, up until the synth-lullaby finale, "Go To Sleep."

Venus Hum tries for an edgier sound in "Colours of the Wheel," and most of the time that's exactly what they get. Okay, "Pink Champagne" lumbers where the other songs dance, and the interludes aren't really necessary. But the majority of these songs are effervescent and creative, with a wider range than Venus Hum displayed before.

Their main instrument is keyboard, which Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle twist into every imaginable kind of sound -- sometimes soft and mellow, sometimes swirling and sparkling, and sometimes in sharp electronic jabs reminiscent of their last album. There's also a spattering of more down-to-earth instrumentation, such as the acoustic guitar in the opening song.

Annette Strean apparently developed vocal nodes a few years back, but her voice sounds just as good as ever -- strong and flexible, sort of like Imogen Heap's spacier little sister. The lyrics tend to be a bit on the simple side, with lines often repeated, but in Strean's voice they sound quite good.

Venus Hum have some uneven spots in "Colours in the Wheel," but the darker, more experimental, still entrancing music is definitely worth getting your hands on.

(Thank you, Rebecca!)

I really love Big Beautiful Sky and Songs for Superheroes, but this album really misses in the production department, and fails to draw the listener in. It's hard to listen to - challenging - almost tiring to consume. I couldn't figure it out until recently, and now it's obvious. It's all the extra sonic junk in the mixes, that aren't rhythmically or harmonically useful. There are just oodles of bleeps and bloops and filtered swooshes that are layered on every song, and they really detract from the groove and melody, burying Annette's vocals and making for basically a confusing electronic art-music experiment rather than a professional CD. I would totally buy a remix of this CD that simply omitted all the sonic junk and put the vocals front and center as found in the prior 2 CD's.

Note that this has nothing at all to do with the songwriting or performance quality - it's just a production botch that could be fixed in a single day. As it is I can't stand to listen to the songs because there's just too much crud going on.

This album is a beautiful and haunting electronically charged mix of pop and indie electro rock. Infused and layered with stunning and unforgettable female vocals, the album provides a soundtrack to an roller coaster of emotions. Poetry-like lyrics, dreamscape synth, unique song composition and even the seemingly contradicting fusion of innovative and cutting edge pop are just some of the experiences you will have when you listen to Venus Hum's, The Colors in The Wheel. The album could be described as Moby meets Sara McLaughlin meets Poe, however even that would be a description that would take away from the truly unique nature of this album. I highly recommend this album to people who are not afraid of slightly experimental music.

Venus Hum presents an intriguing collection of soothing lullabies and sensuous edge driven songs. "Turn me around" is a perfect introduction to an album that continually changes and begins in an intense longing, moves to sexy exciting challenges and then returns to sweet purring lullabies.

"Let your no be no
and your yes be yes
my no means no
my yes means yes"

"Yes & No" is an intense sexy song that could mean anything you want it to mean and it presents an almost sensual challenge that speaks of a mind game or intellectual playfulness. Sure to get your heart beating a little faster than it was at the start. It is like a song under pressure that simply wants to explode in passion and then simply dissolves.

The same energy seems to pervade "Do You Want to Fight Me" and it is a very sexy challenging throwing down the gauntlet type of song. Both songs seem to leave you a little breathless.

The untitled songs on this album seem to be transitions between the songs and serve to introduce the next track effectively. The last untitled song sweeps almost silently into a lullaby that teases the listener with words of rest all while it keeps the tempo humming.

~The Rebecca Review

Venus Hum really achieves something with this new album. Perhaps it was all the pain they were forced to suffer on the road to creating it, but the album has more human edge and energy to it that I don't believe their music had in the past. But, even though they've taken things to a decidedly more serious level than before, that's not to say that their album isn't ridiculously fun. All three band members' musical talent has increased dramatically, creating some amazing beats, and still keeping with the subtle background noises and things working together to make almost every song a unique and fascinating listening experience.

Oh my God I am so happy there's a new album, I'd waited so long! Annette's voice is so beautiful and unique, and the melodies are so uplifting... Not too different from "Big Beautiful Sky" but at the same time very original. I really hope they get the recognition they deserve =)

I had Big Beautiful Sky for a few months before buying The Colors In The Wheel. I love BBS and was hoping that Colors would have more of the same. But Venus Hum has changed their sound a bit. They've become more experimental and darker. The songs are more melodically evolved, but much of the melody is now carried by an expanded array of instruments instead of Annette Strean's voice. In fact, her vocals are somewhat more timid on Colors and she never really belts it out like she did on "The Bells" from BBS. I read somewhere that she had surgery on her vocal cords. Perhaps that's why she plays it a bit safer this time around. Colors is a good album, but it is a step down from Big Beautiful Sky.

When I first listened to Colours In the Wheel, it seemed maybe worth $4 tops, if I paid 99 cents per track I liked. Later I found all but three of the tracks to be listenable. Hands-down, Surgery in the Sky is the best track in the CD, but even its fast-paced, cool and harmonic chorus doesn't quite make it worth buying buy itself.

This being the first CD I heard from Venus Hum, the first time I listened to Do You Want To Fight Me? I felt like it was good, but to me it was dying for some electric guitar to shred in or something. That's just not the band, but it will grow on you and eventually you won't care anymore. Meanwhile, Yes and No is good, fast, and almost seems to have an attitude all its own. Personally, these two aggressive songs kept me coming back for more.

Surgery in the Sky is amazing, especially when it moves into the extended chorus. It's very easy to listen to, while keeping up a good tempo and beat. It doesn't leave you wanting more of anything except a second-listen. I've said enough about it already in this review, and it almost makes the CD.

72 Degrees isn't at all a bad song, and is one of the faster songs to grow on me. The acoustic guitar accompanied by the passion Annette's singing is one of the high points in the song, not to mention the beautiful vocals toward the end and the instrumentals that carry it off.

You Break Me Down reminded me of a carnival tune, but offbeat and repeatedly skipping. If I start listening to it past the 1:09 mark, Annette's voice is nice enough to not mind the instrumentals much and just listen to the rest. Pink Champagne is even more offbeat though, but different in that it actually gets worse as it goes on. The chorus isn't bad, but overall I feel like I'm listening to something `Alice in Wonderland'-esque, except not fantastic or dark, just very awkward and nonsensical. Go To Sleep is a very nice song that just goes downhill about mid-point, where it tries to remix itself with some repetition, adding in extra notes and stuff. I usually just turn off the CD at this point, because it gets really silly and is, in my opinion, a bad ending.

All-in-all, after owning this for a couple months now, there are 4 good tracks, 3 okay/listenable ones, and 3 bad ones. I think if you can find this CD for $4-6, pick it up and give it a shot. Anything more, you're going to feel like you blew your money, especially during that awkward first listen.

I was a little worried after reading some of the other customer reviews of this album. I bought it and after listening several times, I am not disappointed. I did think songs 12 and 14 are weaker than the others. I get a little bored listening to them; the lyrics are repetative. Pink Champaigne is my favorite. I am a fan of experimental electronic music. This album incorporates multi-dimensional sounds with upbeat rhythms and Annette's voice is lovely. I am a huge fan of this band and they have not let me down yet. I am excited to see what they produce in the future.