"Cajun Dance Party" are a five-piece Indie rock band from London, England. Cajun Dance Party were formed in 2005 and they are Daniel Blumberg (Vocals), Robbie Stern (Guitar), Max Bloom (Bass and Backing Vocals), Vicky Freund (Keyboards and Backing Vocals) and Will Vignoles (Drums). Cajun Dance Party are mainly into Indie rock, though at times they sound alternative and bring in elements of power pop.
The Colourful Life begins with easy listening title track "Colourful Life". The distant piano eventually sounds louder as Daniel joins in with his vocals. Colourful Life has a very light and soothing atmosphere to it. The piano keeps appearing every 4 seconds and the guitar has a pop feeling to it. Every radio station would definitely love to air this track by Cajun Dance Party. The rhythm on the track changes when the chorus comes in, Daniel goes, "Feel the world on my hands, trust incentives of a band, because the weight is thick yet thin, drop it now and destroy what's in..." It's as if the verse is taking break in the chorus when Daniel sings it. Into the bridge, guitar and violin can be heard having fun while Daniel just sings on until the end. During the process, Colourful Life is decorated with harmonized backing vocals. One word to describe this track by Cajun Dance Party, jovial!
Going on is the cowboy and La-Bamba-like "The Race". The guitar leaves a catchy trail everytime it comes to play. It gets you dancing too. Listening to the verse of The Race, Daniel sings in a fast pace with the guitar keeps playing the notes that will get you moving. Starting to get groovy here. Coming to the chorus, Daniel goes for a few times, "The sun will rise, even if you don't happen to be there..." And it is the time where the guitar takes a short break and allows the piano to enter briefly. The Race is a rock and roll track where you would enjoy the guitar riffs and the piano altogether. Cajun Dance Party also make their marks here by exploding when the track is nearing the end. Violin, keyboards, drums, bass, guitars and the whole of Cajun Dance Party are all there to give The Race an anthemic ending. Not a track to be missed by Cajun Dance Party.
It's time for "Time Falls" to slow the tempo down and get us into a laid-back mood with this rocking ballad. In the beginning, you can hear Daniel's passionate singing accompanied only by guitar. Entering the second verse, Vicky can be heard helping Daniel out with her beautiful voice. The music on Time Falls seems to be softer, covered by the vocals of Daniel and Vicky. In the chorus, Daniel sort of stammers in an effort to create a deeper impact on Time Falls and goes, "D-D-Day comes and i'm wondering, i'm wondering what for, day comes and i spin round and my thoughts soar..." A soft yet fierce ballad by Cajun Dance Party. The combination of vocals between Daniel and Vicky is also the pulling factor of Time Falls.
"The Next Untouchable" brings the tempo back. A short keyboard playing before picking up with the guitar that keeps looping within the same yummy notes. Once Daniel enters, he voice seems to be fiercer and louder. I can feel like he's about to explode at any moment. The part before the chorus, the music hits a high and twists into a different note that we would see the keyboard comes in for a while with a few key notes. Reaching the chorus, the music gets into a start/stop beat where Daniel goes, "I can't walk away, all I can do is say better luck next time, the next untouchable, feel her, move her, believe her, see her..." But that is not all, it's also followed by some guitar playing that doesn't want to let the chorus ends just like that. It drags on. Rocking it out with Cajun Dance Party on The Next Untouchable is really fun. I can't have enough now! :-D
"No Joanna" starts off on a low key with Daniel's singing as if he's telling a story to us. As he sings on, the guitar, bass and keyboards just follow his delicate voice and go through. The music on the chorus seems to be on a different level, it's fuller and make you want to squirm when listening to it. I just love the violin that works like magic in the chorus. Daniel also works his magic here, "Joanna sits on the wall, smiling and laughing and asking for more, she's won the battle, but now comes the fear, it's over..." I really didn't expect this from Cajun Dance Party. But they really surprised me here with No Joanna. Even in the bridge, you can't help at all but to sway to the music of Cajun Dance Party. Lucky Joanna, how i wish i could be you... This is just simply awesome, i want more!
"Amylase" starts with Cajun Dance Party exclaiming, "One, two, one, two, three, four...". It is succeeded immediately by violin and other instruments that a typical Indie rock band would have. The music on Amylase is really good. It's loud and rock-able, but somehow it manages to be so friendly that it would win a place in those die hard pop fans. I like the chorus part where Daniel sings sarcastically, "Let's save this game for never, or you know this could be chess forever, i'll take your piece, then you'll take mine, stalemate and we've just wasted time..." In the bridge as well, it also strike me when i listen to it. Daniel can be heard going in a fast pace repeatedly, "You're the catalyst that makes things faster, amylase will dry up the plaster." Nearing the end, Cajun Dance Party surprise us with their absolutely catchy guitar. Infectiously incredulous!
"The Firework" is another radio friendly track that everyone must have it in their car wherever they go. Once it enters, i know that The Firework is going to be a huge and friendly track. After a few listens, Cajun Dance Party remind me of another Indie rock band Switches. It maybe the way they play the guitar, or it maybe the way Daniel sings through the track. Anyhow, they resemble Switches here. The part after the second chorus, the music that comes in really rock my world. The guitar stands out in miles, almost like the style of Albert Hammond, Jr. The remaining 30 seconds of The Firework are filled with loud banging music and Daniel's yelling. Very energetic ending! It's really hype! ;-)
"Buttercups" has a jazzy feeling to it. The bass is slow, but it can be very infectious as it plays on. It will grow onto you before you know it. It was what happened to me when i listened to Buttercups. However Daniel tries hard to sing perfectly on Buttercups, i can hear his over-pitched voice as he sings through the verse. When it comes to the chorus, Daniel changes his tone and sings, "Oh uh oh, where do we go? And how long will it take to slow? Before we slide..." I really like the last part of the chorus, Daniel does a really good job there, "Before we slide..." The rhythm goes very well with Daniel's voice when that happens, and i have no complaints. Such a powerful ballad by Cajun Dance Party.
"The Hill, The View & The Lights" is the last track on The Colourful Life. And for the first time, Vicky takes charge of the vocals. I have to say, she has a really good voice. It vibrates as she sings through. In the verse, it's slow and steady. Vicky's voice sails through smoothly with the music playing in the background. And somehow, she reminds me of Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley. The track starts to liven up when Daniel comes in. The music gets into a rock mode and hit a high before it comes down and subside till the end. Cajun Dance Party pick the right track for the ending here. It has the steady beginning, the hype climax and the killing ending. Just as brilliant as the opener Colourful Life.
