are you the serious kind?

I'm fairly predictable. That applies vaguely to many aspects of my life that will not be elaborated upon. But suffice it to say that if you know a band that has original drumming and melodic, undistorted electric guitar with equal parts focused math rock and open jazz flair, I'm probably going to like them. If you throw in the occasional trumpet (or any brass instrument), I'll keep my focus on them exponentially longer. If you throw in a second drummer, and do it correctly, I'll be smitten and come back to their album frequently. Colossal do it correctly. Their 2004 full length debut, Welcome the Problems, is that album. The band members, who have come and gone frequently over the band's first few years, are more akin to the punk scene than the indie scene, which is moderately surprising. Colossal has toured with The Alkaline Trio and includes members of The Lawrence Arms and The Smoking Popes, yet they can easily draw fans of American Football and Pele. And accuse me of making too many Pele comparisons all you want. Jon Mueller's innovative percussion style and Chris Rosenau's guitar work have been major influences on my musical tastes. Colossal are now writing and recording their second album after taking some time apart.
So, if Matt Skiba had formed a band in Chicago in the late nineties and shared practice space with Steve Lamos and Steve Holmes, they may have stumbled upon a sound that Colossal has made their own.
Extra credit if you understood that without looking anything up.



Colossal's "The Serious Kind"
& "I'll Look At You When The Dying Starts"
from Welcome the Problems