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Fresh from releasing their debut 7" on Deranged Records, we are excited to release the demo on to vinyl. Hailing from Minneapolis and featuring members of The Retainers, W.H. Walker, and Cheap Time. Influences range from old school Aussie punk to Killed By Death comps to contemporary garage/punk/powerpop to the classic sounds of Minneapolis/St. Paul. FFO The Marked men, Buzzcocks, Exploding Hearts etc. In short, it KILLS.
Our take: Demo-on-vinyl from this Minneapolis band that recently released their proper debut on Deranged Records. It's easy to see why this demo recording caught people's attention, because it's a really powerful slice of melodic, '77-influenced punk. Apparently the band features former members of the Retainers and Cheap Time, and in a way Color TV kind of melds those bands' sounds, taking the grittiness and punk attitude of the former while borrowing big pop hooks from the latter. A lot of garage-type bands can focus too hard on being tough and raw and start to lose the hooks, while a lot of poppy bands can sound too bubblegum-y, but Color TV hit that perfect sweet spot occupied by bands like the Buzzcocks. Fans of the best contemporary melodic punk--the Marked Men, Red Dons, Jay Reatard, Carbonas, Busy Signals... that kind of thing--should definitely take note of Color TV and this record in particular.