Australian artist Lawrence English's latest release is, as the title hints, a beautiful meditation on the season of autumn. This album represents an amazing mix of sounds, textures, and moods that is extremely varied in its execution, yet remains quite cohesive. The stated goal of "A Colour for Autumn" was to be "an invitation for the listener to consider their own localised transition of Autumn." Really, this seems like an apt way to describe the experience of the album's seven tracks. They're structurally compelling enough to remain thoroughly interesting, yet subtle enough to allow for listeners to find their own interpretations.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of "A Colour of Autumn" is that each song is constructed out of very different parts, yet still fit within the album perfectly. English brings an arsenal of instruments, electronics, and field recordings to the table and finds great ways to string them together. For example, the opening track "Droplet" consists of layered vocal tones in varying states of distortion and manipulation strung over a swimming mix of electronic background drones (said to be culled from field recordings made in Notre-Dame De La Garde in Marseilles). The result is a thick aural haze, punctuated by subtle shifts. For the next track, "Watching It Unfold," English takes an entirely different direction, yet still creates a logical extension to the preceding piece. This time, English incorporates simple, echoing guitar lines, light electronic touches, and minimal horn lines to bring attention to create a warm, spacious sound. Another strong piece is "Stillness In Motion." Centered around a repeating series of electronic tones, the background pulses with a cacophonous variety of sounds and samples. The background noises rise in their intensity, yet stay firmly grounded in the work thanks to the leveling nature of the repeated tones.

While this album focuses on autumn, it seems like an ideal soundtrack for contemplative moments in any season. Certainly, its understated beauty won't go out of style in any part of the year. If nothing else, the absorbing music of "A Colour for Autumn" supplies a perfect excuse to slow down and reflect, if only for its thirty-seven minute duration. 8/10 -- Matt Blackall (15 April, 2009)