It’s been four years between records for MAX, but the New York singer-songwriter has been cooking up a new found sonical confidence and experimental layer that has transformed his music into a bigger DIY force to be reckoned with.
His third studio album ‘Colour Vision’ is a testament to that much needed time to hone his craft, tour the world, and further collaborate with other artists to pull in those new sounds and references that drive the album’s foundations. The colourful twelve tracks create a kaleidoscope of emotions that inject a unique playfulness, while also tackling love, heartbreak, toxicity and the struggle to generally find the right balance in life.
Opening with the title track ‘Colour Vision’ which acts as the album’s theatrical intro, he transports you into this slick Justin Timberlake influenced world full of synthesiser, distortion and strong harmonies that will become an epic moment in his live show. Hyped up from that strong introduction, recent single ‘Working For The Weekend feat. bbno$ keeps the energy high as he delivers an anthem for everyone creative person to proudly blast. Reflecting on the constant grind and hustle that creatives have to keep up to simply “make it”, he gives you a catchy hook and a lot of quotable lyrics.
From there fellow singles ‘Love Me Less’ feat. Quinn XCII, ‘Missed Calls feat. Hayley Kiyoko, ‘Acid Dreams’ feat. Felly, ‘Checklist’ feat. Chromeo and ‘Where Am I At’ keep the uptempo vibes rolling with songs that his fans have religiously streamed in the lead up to the release. But the new tracks are what the fans are going to be the most excited to hear and they don’t disappoint. ‘Circles’ interpolates a dancehall influenced sound into the production while ‘New Life’ hears him tapping into his RNB experimentation, and ‘SOS’ gives you a vocal heavy moment.
But one of the albums most unexpected moments comes from the Suga (from BTS) collaboration, ‘Blueberry Eyes’. Giving the production a Willy Wonka meets doo-woop lens, I expected a dark and brooding electric bop, but was pleasantly surprised with this DIY delivery.
Closing the record with the intimate and poignant ‘There Is A God’, he serves you grand orchestra production with soaring vocals as he confesses his love to his wife and tells her that he makes her believe in something bigger. Bring me the tissues! “Ooh, the way that you love me, the way that you are, makes me believe that there’s a God. Nothing above me, nothing but stars. But you make me believe that there’s a God” he sings during the touching chorus.
‘Colour Vision’ is a playful and experimental affair which showcases all of the different creative sides to MAX’s artistry. It’s also his strongest and most cohesive body of work yet, and will have you immediately falling into this kaleidoscope of emotions and sounds.