Colour The Small One

Sound DNA

• Electronic
• Ambient & Downtempo

• lo-fi
• bittersweet
• confessional

About

Few artists can sculpt soul-rending pain into masterful works of beauty like Sia. The Australian pop songwriter and vocal powerhouse first earned buzz with the visceral tales of self-destruction and poisonous love from her 2001 sophomore album, <i>Healing Is Difficult</i>. Her jazzy combo of percussion, horns, and R&B vocals flourished in a sonic universe designed and expanded by Jamiroquai and Nelly Furtado. But by the time her third LP, <i>Colour the Small One</i>, arrived three years later, Sia's storytelling had gotten more raw and piercing as she ditched the funky grooves for breathy sobs and orchestral minimalism. Perhaps the greatest influence on the sound of <i>Colour the Small One</i> was Sia's time touring with English downtempo group Zero 7, which empowered her to find and cultivate melody from within herself. Opening track “Rewrite” is the epitome of a slow burn, building steadily on barely-there jazz drums and ambient atmospheres as Sia weaves a surrealist poem about a romance so buttery it slips through her fingers. Again, on the uneasy ballad “Don't Bring Me Down,” the singer mumbles from her bed in the middle of the night, staring at the ceiling while locking into the silent breaths of a paramour. She feverishly prays he won't leave when the sun comes around, unspooling her fears over lush string arrangements and the faintest trip-hop beat. If <i>Healing Is Difficult</i> dissected the many ways Sia was mistreated by her lovers, <i>Colour the Small One</i> honed in on the terrifying emptiness on the other side of an emotional purge. On “The Bully,” which she co-wrote with Beck, an uncomfortable, passive-aggressive encounter grows queasy over intrusive questioning and dissonant production. The album's heartbreaking zenith comes on “Breathe Me,” as Sia clamors for warmth and comfort in devastating lines like “Be my friend, hold me,” her voice free-falling over jittery piano keys. The song would become a cult hit after being prominently featured in the series finale of HBO's <i>Six Feet Under</i> and appearing in numerous films, shows, and commercials after that. It was Sia's first true breakthrough, leading to a rerelease of the album, which came loaded with three new songs, including the pummeling “Broken Biscuit” and remixes by Four Tet and Hot Chip.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits