Four years ago, Under the Radar premiered a track from the U.K. four-piece Colour Me Wednesday, which had just released a split EP with Washington D.C. songwriter Spoonboy and was currently on its first (and only) US tour. House shows supporting the EP and the band's debut full length, I Thought It Was Morning, released the previous year, were exciting bursts of punky indie pop. Now, after another EP release, Anyone and Everyone, in 2016, Colour Me Wednesday are back with their sophomore album, Counting Pennies in the Afterlife. On social media, the band describes itself as "DIY anti-capitalist, queer, feminist, [and] anti-TERF," but what they also continue to be is brilliant indie pop songwriters. Like I Thought It Was Morning, the band's second album sparkles and drives with outgoing melodies and harmonies that both engage and propel. Unlike their debut, Counting Pennies in the Afterlife is more nuanced, more diverse, and emblematic of a band that has grown exponentially in the past four years. Whereas songs like "Boyfriend's Car" and "Tinfoil" bounce and jive with manic energy and inimitable melodic power, tracks like "Sad Bride" and "Take What You Want (And Then Leave)" possess a more intricate, gentler touch. Throughout the album, tempos vary and moods shift, taking the listener on a diverse indie-pop ride.
