COLORS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Italian trio Colours shared only three singles with the world, and all were made in the hotbed period of 1985-86, when labels such as Discomagic monopolised the roost. 'Lonely Night' was their manifest magic trick; its poking, reverb-slurried lead is a slick staccato, upon which a lonesome vocal line by singer Mauro Santoro calls out into the night from the picture window. A kind of emo efflux is at play, where the 80s fascination with vulnerability is set to the brunt-borne, sublimated beat of the discotheque. Little is known about this band save for Santoro, making this a collectors item less concerned with band BTS or making-of shenanigans, and more the inherently appreciable shape of a sound.

Review: Colors are a classic example of an obscure Italo-disco outfit who's quirky (and undeniably Italian) take on synth-pop chimed with listeners in different parts of the world in the mid 1980s. 'Never Mind', their second single, was a hit single in Germany and the Phillipines on its initial release in 1985 - hence this reissue. With its jangling guitars, nods to indie-pop and surprisingly deep and warming synths, it's one of the more Balaeric Italo-disco classics of the era, and one that has aged well. On this reissue, the trio's original instrumental and vocal takes come backed by two fresh revisions: a more synth and drum-machine driven rework by Flemming Dallum that drags it closer to classic Italo-disco territory and a twinkling, largely instrumental Hysteric edit tailor-made for dancefloors.