In September I said there would be a new album from Colony House this winter, and I was right! Colony House’s fourth album, The Cannonballers, came out on February 3rd and they’ve already started their tour. Which should make you excited because the album and band deserve this success.

The album, from start to finish, is filled with catchy hooks, bass lines to make you move and lyrics that focus on themes of self identity, purpose and relationships. A lot of words to say that it’s a Colony House album with a lot of the same themes that they have had in previous albums like Leave What’s Lost Behind and Only The Lonely. The sound of the album is a bit of a departure from those albums, but it still sounds like Colony House.

The first song of the album Landlocked Surf Rock, has a quick pace to it that is an absolute bop with catchy lyrics making it a perfect album while giving you an idea of what to expect from the rest of the album.

Colony House follows it up with Would Ya Could Ya, a song that has a sense of looking for something more. Cannonballers comes after, which I’ve previously written about and is a top tier song packed full of references and is easily one of my favourites from this album.

They next song, Trying to Survive, is a song that I feel will resonate with a lot of people, especially people coming out of a pandemic and facing a financial crisis and the prospect of aggressive war focused countries. It attempts to bring people together on a single call, “trying to survive“, painting the picture that everyone at this point is just trying to live their life while “navigating complicated times”.

One of Those Days is the perfect companion song to Trying to Survive. It captures the feeling of anxiety and the sleepless nights that one can have if they listen to the constant bombardment of the news. It emphasizes self care and self compassion reminding listeners that it’s okay to feel vulnerable. It’s a song that I think is going to be one of the more popular ones from this album, especially given how catchy it is.

Everything begins the back to back love song section of the album, touching on the completing that comes with having strong feelings for someone and the vulnerability that comes with it. The repeated line, “Oh, and I hope you feel the same as I do” show the desire for a mutual connection and underscores their fear of rejection. Don’t I Know You is the next love song, expressing a sense of familiarity and desire to get to know someone they may or may not know, at the very least someone they want to get to know.

Man on the Run, lyrically it is my favourite from this album. It’s written from the protagonists point of view, a man who is searching for something — perhaps a sense of purpose or belonging — and is reaching out to someone who he believes can make him feel more grounded and secure. The protagonist acknowledges that he is struggling to understand his own feelings and identity, “You know who I am / I don’t understand / I’m hoping maybe you do”. He continues the theme of searching and uncertainty with the protagonist calling out to someone to help him find his way, “Give me an answer / Show me the way”. He also acknowledges that he needs to take responsibility for his own life, “I’m not running away, I’m running home”. The part that gets me is the protagonist asking to be carried to the edge of surrender and for someone to stay with him while he remembers what he is searching for. Ultimately, it’s a song about the universal experience of feeling lost and searching for connection, “I am a man on the run” repeated throughout the song underscores the sense of restlessness and yearning while the plea for help and guidance suggest that he cannot do it alone. It’s almost a call back to their song from their album Only The Lonely, Cannot Do This Alone, and is a great companion to that song.

Don’t Give Up On Me, is another song that showcases the vulnerable feelings that permeate this album. The singer has personal issues an acknowledges them through the song while underscoring a fear of abandonment. The lyrics, repeated through the song “Don’t give up on me, don’t give up on me / And I know I’ve got some work to do / but I’m making changes / have a little patience / Stay for sunrise” show that the singer is working on himself and gives a sense of hope for those he is talking to, as the cliche saying goes, it’s always darkest before the dawn.

Do You Ever Feel is a song that evokes a sense of nostalgia and a longing for simpler times. It’s a theme that is taken on by many bands and Colony House does it well. While it may not be my favourite song that evokes feelings of nostalgia, it is put together well and I really enjoy the production and sound of this song.

I’m Not Dying rounds off this album with a song about self reflection, self discovery and the courage to face life challenges head on. It’s a great song to end on.

Ultimately the album hits on themes that Colony House has done before and that other artists have done a million times over. That said, the songs are catchy, the lyrics are well done and the production is stellar. While the themes may have been done before, they haven’t been done like this. The album is a must listen and may round off my top ten for the year with Man on the Run solidly within my top ten, possibly top five. I give it seven emu’s out of ten.