Time for a white Christmas has come.
The central colour behind COLOR's fourth and last album, under the protective hand of producer and ex-member ATSUSHI (EXILE), is the colour white. The 14 songs of the album can be considered as odes to love.
The calm album launches with a short, fitting a capella intro, which is followed by the soft pop R&B love song Miss you. Despite the schmaltzy refrain, the song is pretty gentle. The subsequent songs Long Distance and White Story, which were released a few days before the album on a single, fit into the ensemble perfectly with their romantic winter charm. Likewise is the leisurely-paced Stay on, even with its strong bass beat. The high pitched vocals of the four men leave a slightly bad impression within this love song; apart from that, you're listening to solid COLOR fare. Next up is The Color Of Love, which is sung completely in English. For some reason, this track possesses a "Beauty and the Beast" feeling. In addition, it counts towards the romantic and touching pieces with Christmas character as well. However, CONFIDENTIAL LOVER draws attention due to its headstrong, heartrending synthesizer chords and gangster feeling. Ignoring this for a moment, you're left with a mid-tempo, grooving R&B anthem.
The second half of the CD starts with another sensitive, classic ballad, in which COLOR is supported by rapper Tyler. Due to the occurring rapped sections, the song preserves its emotional character. Subsequent to it is ONE. It's enjoyable through its touching, classical atmosphere. SORA, on the other hand, lives through its acoustic accompaniment, the mysterious hovering synthesizer melodies and the sound of a harp. The sensitive lyrics were written by band member RYO. During the short interlude, the sound of a music box getting wound up changes into the first soft notes of With you~Luv merry X'mas~. The song is tasteful, slow and catchy, especially with the string orchestra and the organ played at the bridge.
For Can We Fall In Love, COLOR asked for the assistance of their vocal idols Boyz II Men, and together they created this vocally powerful love song. All the different voices harmonize perfectly with each other and with the calm and playful melodies. Lastly, there is the bonus track Tada... aitakute -Slow Jam Mix-, which sounds pretty familiar, and you can quickly predict the lyric and melodies. The individual keyboard chords sound a bit mismatched, but the distorted vocals and the beautiful, clear harp compensate for this small mishap.
The white lilies and the chapel on the cover already suggest that this is a contemplative, calm and sometimes schmaltzy album. Because of the emotional character of the ballads, all of the songs are mainly underscored by a classical component, so the musical accompaniment mostly consists of acoustic guitars, piano or strings. WHITE~Lovers on canvas~ won't disappoint romantics, and it is the perfect album to smooch to during the cold time of the year.
