The Gorgeous Colours

Artist Information

Biography

"Chopped Heart" is The Gorgeous Colours' second single of 2011 - the first, “It’s OK To Be Normal”, was described by one blogger as "quite possibly the best track of the year so far released by an Irish band".

Last year, the band released the critically-acclaimed The Creatures Down Below EP, which was funded by fans through an online pledge campaign. The video for the title track of the EP – viewable below – won the Viewer's Choice Award for best video at the 2010 IMTV awards.

Praise for "It's OK To Be Normal":

"In the space of a few short years, Dublin five-piece The Gorgeous Colours have damn near perfected the art of making radio-friendly pop and without having to coat their tunes with super-slick production or try-too-hard hooks. To say that clanging shoop-driven ditty "It's OK To Be Normal" feels like a little bowl of sunshine would betray the empty-hearted cynic in me, but this much I will admit – The Gorgeous Colours’ sound is as summery as they come.” - Hotpress

"TGC are getting better with time...they’ve always had a great ear for melody but the last few releases have been sparkling with perfect, poppy clarity. "It's OK To Be Normal" is so pretty and yet, there’s always a deeper sentiment under their airy, feelgood sound" - Harmless Noise

"The Gorgeous Colours released an underrated debut album in 2009 and have followed it up with an excellent EP and this amazing song 'It's OK To Be Normal'. This is quite possibly the best track of the year so far released by an Irish band!" - 2 U I Bestow

praise for The Creatures Down Below EP:

“...certainly the best thing I’ve ever heard from the band. The band’s older and wiser sound variably calls to mind bands like Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes...a (gentle) belter” - Nialler9

“Accomplished arrangements, and blissful four part harmonies that ooze pure sunshine....a perfect package of feel good, danceable and all round lovely, gorgeous even, sounds” - State.ie

“A fantastic Irish 5 piece who released the best EP I heard last year, The Creatures Down Below. Four songs that would stand out on any album and a contender for video of the year with the title track from that EP. A band that simply needs to be heard by the right people to progress, hopefully that will happen in 2011” - MusicPup Ireland

"Close to the premier piece of Irish pop I’ve heard all year...there’s probably no end to this band's talent, so strap yourself in for lots of future treats" - mp3Hugger

"One of the most underrated bands in Ireland...four tracks that deserve to be heard. No gimmicks, no trying to be the newest sound around, The Gorgeous Colours make beautiful music that urges you to listen again.” - The Point of Everything

“You'll want to listen over and over...The Gorgeous Colours are growing into a band that we could all easily fall in love with." - Tell That Cat to Chill

Manager: Rebecca Bourke (rebecca@tidal.ie, 0879142334)
Contact: thegorgeouscolours@gmail.com

Bandcamp: http://thegorgeouscolours.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheGorgeousColours
Blog: http://thegorgeouscolours.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ gorgeouscolours
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/thegorgeouscolours/sets

Instrumentation

Geoffrey McArdle (vocals, guitar, keyboard, trumpet)
-
Neil Smyth (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals)
-
Tim Groenland (bass, backing vocals)
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Philip O'Gorman (guitar, vocals, harmonica, xylophone)
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Simon Hunt (drums)

Discography

"Burning" single, independently released, November 2006.
"Hunting Something" single, independently released, June 2008
"The Gorgeous Colours" (Debut album), independently released, September 2008.
"The Creatures Down Below" (EP), independently released, October 2010.
"It's OK To Be Normal" (Single", independently released, May 2011.

Official Website

http://thegorgeouscolours.bandcamp.com/

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Blog
• Soundcloud

Audio

• It's Ok To Be Normal
  Listen  
• It's Ok To Be Normal (Radio Edit)
  Listen  
• The Creatures Down Below
  Listen  
• No Man's Land
  Listen  
• Animal
  Listen  
• Locksmith
  Listen  
• We Are
  Listen  

Video

Its OK to be Normal

The Creatures Down Below

Photo Gallery

Press

• Drop-D review, Mar 2011 [+ Show ]
  

  "one of the best pop songs to emerge from this country in the last twelve months or so...A triumph f..."one of the best pop songs to emerge from this country in the last twelve months or so...A triumph for the band and a reason to be excited about any future releases."

• "Top 20 for 2011", MusicPup Ireland [+ Show ]
  

  "A fantastic Irish 4 piece who released the best EP I heard last year, The Creatures Down Below. Fou..."A fantastic Irish 4 piece who released the best EP I heard last year, The Creatures Down Below. Fours songs that would stand out on any album and a contender for video of the year with the title track from that EP. A band that simply needs to be heard by the right people to progress, hopefully that will happen in 2011."

• Top Irish EPs of 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  Varied and absorbing, The Creatures Down Below begins with the title track, a deceptive little numbe...Varied and absorbing, The Creatures Down Below begins with the title track, a deceptive little number with all manner of off-kilter harmonies, hooks and backing vocals that play off each other. It's intricate stuff, calling to mind the vintage pop-craft of the Super Furry Animals among others. Elsewhere there's 'Animal', an enchanting folk number with warm harmonies reminiscent of Fleet Foxes, as well as the galloping rhythms of the sweeping, skiffle-tinged 'No Man's Land'.

• Nialler9 - EP review, Oct 2011 [+ Show ]
  

  “...certainly the best thing I’ve ever heard from the band. The band’s older and wiser sound variabl...“...certainly the best thing I’ve ever heard from the band. The band’s older and wiser sound variably calls to mind bands like Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes...a (gentle) belter”

• State - live review (HWCH 2010) [+ Show ]
  

  “Accomplished arrangements, and blissful four part harmonies that ooze pure sunshine....a perfect pa...“Accomplished arrangements, and blissful four part harmonies that ooze pure sunshine....a perfect package of feel good, danceable and all round lovely, gorgeous even, sounds”

• mp3Hugger - EP review, Oct 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  "...close to the premier piece of Irish pop I’ve heard all year...There’s probably no end to this ba..."...close to the premier piece of Irish pop I’ve heard all year...There’s probably no end to this bands talent so strap yourself in for lots of future treats"

• The Music Journal EP review, Jan 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  "In an age where scuzzy, distorted surf-pop is the sound du jour, it's easy for sincere, slightly ec..."In an age where scuzzy, distorted surf-pop is the sound du jour, it's easy for sincere, slightly eccentric piano alt-pop to get overlooked somewhat. Dublin's The Gorgeous Colours, however, remind us just how good this kind of music can be...their lead single 'The Creatures Down Below' - from their similarly-titled EP - is full of loveable, childish quirkiness"

• The Point of Everything - EP review, Oct 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  "One of the most underrated bands in Ireland...four tracks that deserve to be heard. No gimmicks, no..."One of the most underrated bands in Ireland...four tracks that deserve to be heard. No gimmicks, no trying to be the newest sound around, The Gorgeous Colours make beautiful music that urges you to listen again. And it was all possible thanks to donations from 100 fans. It may not have worked for NWA (if memory serves me correctly), but it has worked for the band straight out of Dublin."

• The Indie Sea - "The Creatures Down Below" track review, Oct 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  "Leave it to some boys from Dublin to provide us with one of the year's catchiest pop songs that isn..."Leave it to some boys from Dublin to provide us with one of the year's catchiest pop songs that isn't really pop. "The Creatures Down Below" fools you into thinking it's pop, what with it's major chords and punchy piano lines. But just listen to the lyrics or take a look at the video below (warning: there will be blood) and you get a sense that there's a bit more to the song. And for that, I love it."

• EP review, TCCTC [+ Show ]
  

  "You'll want to listen over and over...The Gorgeous Colours are growing into a band that we could al..."You'll want to listen over and over...The Gorgeous Colours are growing into a band that we could all easily fall in love with."

• There Goes The Fear EP review, Oct 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  “Of all the countless bands I’ve listen to over the years, Dublin five-piece The Gorgeous Colours ar...“Of all the countless bands I’ve listen to over the years, Dublin five-piece The Gorgeous Colours are one of my most beloved, and bizarrely, one of the least well-known..We can only hope that soon they’ll be able to share their music with a larger audience!”

• The Torture Garden EP review, Oct 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  "One of my favourite Irish bands have returned, and boy howdy was it worth the wait. The Gorgeous Co..."One of my favourite Irish bands have returned, and boy howdy was it worth the wait. The Gorgeous Colours specialise in upbeat that relies on doing old things so well that they sound new. They sing harmonies good enough and warm enough to put the sun in the winter sky, and their songs are full of the kind of happiness and sincerity that most bands don't dare attempt...The above song is their new single, the title track from their new EP, one of my favourite songs of the year, and while it perfectly exemplifies the cheeriness at which the band excel, it shows the darker side of their new material, the sadness that you can occasionally hear in a lingering word, or tense guitar arpeggio. It's beautiful, but slightly appalling at the same time. You'll see."

• Whisperin and Hollerin EP review, Nov 2010 [+ Show ]
  

  "The EP’S title track opens with the best typewriter riff since the Tom Tom Club’s ‘Wordy Rappinghoo..."The EP’S title track opens with the best typewriter riff since the Tom Tom Club’s ‘Wordy Rappinghood’ and it sets up the song’s rhythm: a wonky, fascinating affair based around staccato pianos, timpani and eccentric Beach Boys harmonies. It’s predictably great, as is the ensuing ‘Animal’ where further apparently disparate elements such as finger-picked guitars and curious loping drum patterns come together gloriously with a nonchalance most bands would give their eye teeth for...
  
  ...It’s patently obvious, then, that The Gorgeous Colours haven’t lost their touch. They have returned sounding perhaps a little more world-weary, but the very fact they have returned at all is reason to run up the flags. Especially when they make it feel like they’ve never been away."

Setlist

January,
Chopped Heart,
Animal,
Locksmith,
Cloakroom,
No Man's Land,
Bird Call,
The Creatures Down Below,
We Are,
It's OK To Be Normal.

A set of these songs is approximately 45 minutes long, but we have over an hour's worth of material. We don't play any covers.

Basic Requirements

Calendar