Colour Me Bad

In the past decade or so, rock has been swept up in an excess of imitation. Best-selling bands like the Strokes and the Black Crowes eschew originality while tapping the template created by the Stones and other '60s stalwarts with a fondness for booze 'n' blooze. The Colour, an Orange County, California, outfit, traverses similar turf, as evidenced by its full-length debut, Between Earth and Sky. Borrowing liberally from the Stones/Zeppelin motif, the album trades on frayed guitar riffs, unflinching rhythms, and a badass veneer. The similarity in sound to those earlier icons is especially striking on album-opener "Can't You Hear It Call," a ragtag rocker that could likely pass as an outtake from Exile on Main Street. Then there's "Devil's Got a Holda Me," the album's first single and an opportunity for singer Wyatt Hull to channel Robert Plant's trademark wail. After earlier attempts at emulating moodier Brit bands like Echo and the Bunnymen and the Cure, they're reaping kudos for their retro refit, and rightly so. The new dynamic provides the Colour's music with a brighter hue.

The Colour performs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, at Studio A, 60 NE 11th St., Miami. Tickets cost $8. Call 305-358-7625, or visit www.studioamiami.com.