Confused – Black Colours CD

This release recently arrived on my doorstep. I have to be honest that I wasn’t familiar with the activities of this band before, and this particular full-length material is my first experience with their music. Thankfully, the group sent me their brand new album for review, so judging by how their album sounds, I will have to pay close attention to their activities from now on. Confused is a longevous melodic punk rock trio from Southwest Germany with several full-lengths in their back catalog. Since their formation in 2021, the band released three full-lengths, such as Maraud, Apple Core, and Black Colours. Therefore, let’s dig into Black Colours, their latest full-length album, released a couple of days ago.

Black Colours carries twelve profoundly emotive melodic punk rock compositions. Still, their sound goes far beyond contemporary melodic punk rock because of vividly hearable interferences of other complementary music genres. It seems Confused is inspired by modern alternative rock, nineties rock, and grunge since their tunes carry a decent dosage of each beforementioned genre. Nevertheless, melodic punk rock sound is their primary weapon of choice, and the group does it pretty damn well. Each composition is thoroughly planned, perfectly assembled, and arranged. It’s nearly impossible to say anything negative about this recording because the song structures are so wisely constructed, so it seems that the group spent some time working on this material. After all, years of experience are unquestionable, and their skills are presented from scratch to finish.

The group continuously levitates between cleverly assembled chord progressions and palm-muted riffs. There’s also a layer of melodic and harmonious thematics lurking above the rhythm guitar, and these lead guitar delicacies are flawlessly thought out. Confused thought about bass guitar as well, so you’ll hear all the basslines during the album. The rhythm section delivers a profoundly dynamic performance through all the moderate rhythmic sequences you can imagine, but you should also pay attention to the accentuations and fills while listening. The semi-distorted, but still melodic lead vocals are a perfect match for this type of sound. These chants come as another layer of melodies that float above all these outstanding orchestrations. If you want an even closer comparison of their sound, Confused will be right up your alley if you’re into the music of renowned bands such as Shades Apart, Farside, Samiam, and Seaweed. However, keep in mind that Confused sounds unique, and the group nurtures their version of melodic punk rock. It’s a release you unquestionably need if you’re solely into the genre. Black Colours is available on compact disc and all streaming services.