The Colour

Originally formed in Orange County, the Colour signaled through its deliberately British-flavored spelling an allegiance to the early-2000s wave of post-punk revival acts that included the Strokes, Interpol, and Hot Hot Heat. Once that movement lost momentum, the group shed most of its ersatz English affectations and briefly embraced a heavier, hesh-oriented sound instead. The band coalesced in 2002 after its members first crossed paths as students at Biola University, a modest Christian institution nestled in the Los Angeles suburbs. Vocalist Wyatt Hull, lead guitarist Luke MacMaster, rhythm guitarist Davey Quon, and drummer Nathan Warkentin performed locally with a rotating cast of bassists until Derek Van Heule joined permanently. They soon secured a deal with Lizard King, the British pseudo-indie imprint affiliated with Warner Music Group that had propelled the Killers to success the previous year. Their initial output—the new-wave single “Mirror Ball” and the EP Out and About with the Colour—displayed coiled rhythms, nervy guitar lines, and Hull’s vocals, which bore an unmistakable resemblance to those of the Cure’s Robert Smith and Echo & the Bunnymen’s Ian McCullough.

After those recordings attracted little attention, the Colour parted ways with Lizard King and overhauled their approach entirely. Drawing inspiration from the commercial breakthrough of the Darkness and the underground excitement around Wolfmother, they resurfaced in 2006 as a ’70s-style boogie ensemble. Hull abandoned his earlier reference points in favor of a raw, blues-inflected delivery reminiscent of Mick Jagger filtered through Jack White. The band then aligned with EMI’s Rethink label, issuing the EP Devil’s Got a Holda Me in summer 2006 and the full-length Between Earth & Sky that autumn. The stylistic overhaul proved short-lived, however, and the Colour declared their dissolution in June 2007.