Colour Revolt

If one were to play a lightning round of word association, the phrase “Oxford, Mississippi” would likely evoke an immediate response of “Delta Blues” or something along those lines. At the same time, it’s highly improbable that the response would be “quirky cool Indie Rock with a twisted sense of humor, a stuttering sense of rhythm and wildly applied Southern Rock influences.”

Even those with a thorough knowledge of Colour Revolt have a difficult time drawing a straight line from the band’s visceral and careening sound and their Blues-steeped hometown.

Colour Revolt began early in the decade when the band’s members were still in high school. They played and recorded together as Fletcher after enrolling at the University of Mississippi. They eventually adopted the name Colour Revolt, a reference to the class war in the geometric novella Flatland.

The quintet’s Katrina-stained debut EP as Colour Revolt earned them a licensing deal with Interscope’s Tiny Evil and a contract with Fat Possum, which released CR’s first full-length, Plunder, Beg and Curse, in 2008. Since then, Colour Revolt has been in an almost constant state of tumult as members have rotated in and out of the band, leaving only songwriters Jesse Coppenbarger and Sean Kirkpatrick from the original lineup. In fact, it appears the band that recorded Colour Revolt’s sophomore album, the recently released The Cradle (on its own imprint New Fear, through Dualtone Records), has already dissolved; the CV MySpace page lists only Coppenbarger and Kirkpatrick as members.

The brutal lyrical honesty of The Cradle details much of the band’s conflict and the musical accompaniment — let’s call it Television roasts Drive-By Truckers and Jeff Buckley at a Talking Heads mixer — is the perfectly edgy soundtrack. Other than Coppenbarger (who has a solo album in the can), Kirkpatrick and their cascading guitars, it’s hard to say who will show up to complete the lineup, but a dramatic good time is guaranteed for all.