Album Review: Secret Company - The World Lit Up and Filled with Colour
Image Source: SO Recordings/Standby Records
I’ve had a lot of time to imagine how this day would feel; yet I never thought I’d feel a touch of apprehension. Reviewing Secret Company’s debut album feels oddly like the end of an era as I recall days and nights of feverish excitement over new Secret Company singles, covers and teasers. It’s been a long ride and it has all culminated into one bombastic debut release. The World Lit Up and Filled with Colour is here now, and with one listen, all apprehension disappears.
Every song selected for Secret Company’s first album is full and vibrant, making the album’s title a perfect description. It is next to impossible to listen to faster moments like “Alive,” “Fever of Love,” and “Saviour” without a bright smile coming along for the ride. Smiles twist into a wide-eyed feeling of urgency on brilliantly executed songs like “Final Wish” and “Lightning Parade." Secret Company’s appeal has always been their ability to imbue their music with a sense of emotional wonder and that has never been more apparent than on The World Lit Up and Filled with Colour.
Even the softer songs on the album like “Mercury” and “Holding On” steal breaths with their reserved power. Nowhere is this clearer than on the album’s closing track, “Blue Rose”. Featuring little more than pulsing synths and haunting vocals, the minimal track grips attention from start to finish. Throughout the album, Secret Company exhibits a mature command of restraint in their arrangements, elevating their work to a new level.
What truly makes my heart skip a beat on this album are the moments when I can actually feel the improvements in each member’s talent. One of the album’s singles, “Lightning Parade” shows each member of Secret Company at their best. Ominous bass and guitar riffs blend with relentless drums and a delicate falsetto hook. Every element of the song works with a seamless cohesion that raises the bar they’ve set for themselves. Each member of Secret Company was always good, but here they are chasing perfection.
As I continue to play the songs on Secret Company’s new album over and over, it is impossible not to marvel at the chaotic sea of change it represents – both for myself and for Secret Company. However, the years in which I have been waiting for this moment have taught me that clichés about ends and beginnings are true. The World Lit Up and Filled with Colour may bring an end to the anticipation, but it heralds in a new period for Secret Company – marked by growth and excitement for more to come.
The World Lit Up and Filled with Colour is available now on Spotify and Apple Music.
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