Relix - Living Colour The Chair In The Doorway review

RELIX
OCTOBER 2009

Living Colour
The Chair in the Doorway
MEGAFORCE

After a decade of inactivity, Living Colour, the groundbreaking all-Black metal-funk, etc. hybrid led by guitarist Vernon Reid and vocalist Corey Glover, returned in 2003 with CollideØscope. That album, like 1993’s Stain, retained the ferocity and braininess of the group’s early work, but alienated some older fans who saw its adventurism as too much of a departure. Another break followed—filled with rare and live releases—and now comes The Chair in the Doorway. This time, everyone should be happy. From the crackling soul-funk of “Bless Those” to the raging lead-off track “Burned Bridges,” the psychedelic surf of “Out of Mind” to the sinister “Method,” the quartet corrals its innovative urges into a set of tightly constructed new tunes that go easy on the experiments but don’t seek to resurrect the ‘80s either.

Jeff Tamarkin