The Montaines Cycle Through Love and Loss on 'Color Coded'
Written by Sofia Treviño
Punchy guitar layers lyrics of love and loss in The Montaines’ latest EP, Color Coded, which was released today, September 25. Capturing the uneasiness of life in their early to mid-20s, The Montaines provide a comforting but sizzling soundtrack across eight songs.
The four-member band based in Washington, D.C., formed in 2024 with brothers Alec O’Brien (vocals and guitar) and Jack O’Brien (guitar), plus Charlie Christofferson (drums) and Jack Flood (bass). Each member keeps a full-time job outside of the band. This passion for creating and performing amidst their busy schedules shows in their grungy, infectious rock sound.
While Color Coded shares similar anxious lyrics to their previous collection, Normal People, this second EP rings with more confidence in their overall playing. A cohesive storyboard creates an atmospheric EP centered on learning from love.
The tracks move through the cycle of heartbreak and growth; lust, longing, connection, hurt, and anger color the moving parts, remaining ambiguous enough to relate to a range of listeners.
The Montaines sprinkle enough details into the vagueness to draw one's own memories to mind. In the opening track “Color Coded,” for example, Alec sings, “Turn all the alarms off / with the color-coded quickness / cause you can make my heart stop / and I want whatever this is / And I don’t know how you got to wonder in my mind.”
In an interview with Slipfast, Alec O’Brien shared that not all of the lyrics come from his personal life. This documentation of a group of people dealing with similar stories makes the songs more familiar.
“Overall, the lyrics are a mishmash of little stories from different people I know and experiences that I've had,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien’s dampened vocals hover over contemplative guitar in an interlude before cutting off into “Fruit Punch.” The lyrics share uncertainty in a relationship. Opposing the hesitant lines, upbeat percussion creates a jumpy ambience.
“Pane” snapshots the in-between feeling of your 20s. Warm guitar notes circle a sense of limbo, waiting for life ahead while realizing that nothing is as certain as before.
“My life feels like this great big afternoon that’s slipping by,” he sings. Beneath the guitar’s wistful tone, a feeling of hope lingers.
The band reflects on unrequited love on “In Case You Were Wondering” and “Same Faces.” Driving forward with rippling guitar and booming bass drum notes, the tracks show their ability to juxtapose solemn lyrics with head-nodding beats.
Together, the songs provide a melodic escape from knowing you’re not on someone’s mind at all when they’re stuck in yours. “Tartaria” turns outward as O’Brien contemplates how everyone deals with love.
“Does it ever make you wonder if there’s another way?” he sings. Wavy electric guitar riffs end the track, soaring through a tunnel of undulating percussion.
An angrier tone closes off the EP in “Prague.” O’Brien’s voice turns gravelly as he shouts out his detachment. Mosh-pit-ready percussion rounds off the EP, turning into a loop of heartache and hot-headed reactiveness. The Montaines’ Color Coded brings indie-rock jams to chronicle the turmoil of relationships in your 20s and proves their talent for drawing art from their own and others' lives.
Listen to Color Coded on Spotify and Apple Music
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