THE COLOUR REVOLT

Oxford, Miss., has long been a picture of literature.

William Faulkner and John Grisham have famously made their homes there, as have Barry Hannah, Curtis Wilkie, Jane Anne Mullen, Tom Franklin, Larry Brown, Willie Morris, Richard Ford and others.

So it comes as no surprise that Oxford-based indie rockers Colour Revolt has smartly taken the band's name from the mathematical novel "Flatland," authored by Edwin Abbott Abbott, whose book has seen an revival of sorts among science-fiction and cyberpunk fans more than 70 years following his death.

"We're all literary people," Patrick Addison said. "We get inspired by that stuff."

Originally formed three hours south, along Interstate 55 in Jackson, Miss., according to its online biography, the band — Jesse Coppenbarger, Jimmy Cajoleas, Sean Kirkpatrick, Len Clark and Addison, who replaced Drew Mellon — decided to attend the University of Mississippi in an effort to capture "a city famous for its many dignified dead, and get bit by the mosquitoes that come at you like pteradactyls with all their raging prehistory."

Members of Colour Revolt have toured alongside Dinosaur Jr. and Manchester Orchestra in establishing themselves as modern-day storytellers bridging the gap between Oxford's past and future.

"We all come from different musical backgrounds," said Addison, who noted their influences are everything from Nirvana to Fugazi and to Neil Young. "It's Southern rock — not the (Lynyrd) Skynyrd style, but (the Southern influence) is there."

The band, heralded for their live shows, recently signed with Fat Possum Records and, on April 1, the band released its debut full-length album, "Plunder, Beg and Curse," which was produced, engineered and mixed by the band's longtime friend Clay Jones.

The guys used the opportunity to capture the energy and experience of its live shows. Addison noted that although the band recorded the album in a Mississippi studio, it has a live feel to it, made all the more apparent with three guitars dominating the mix.

The album follows a self-titled EP that was first released in 2005, and re-released a year later.

The group, which was originally named Fletcher, also released "Andy's Greatest Hits" ('01) and "Friend's Don't Speak" ('03).

In noting that, the band first played together while attending Jackson Academy under the name Foxxe before almost as quickly changing its name to Fletcher. In those early days the Colour Revolt had a more post-grunge sound.

After relocating to Oxford, the band, then renamed Colour Revolt, had to make adjustments to its recording plans following Hurricane Katrina.

No such alterations had to made during the recording of "Plunder, Beg and Curse."

And now that they guys have graduated from college — all five members graduated from Ole Miss in April, they are finally able to focus their efforts on touring in support of the album.

"For a while touring was like vacation, because it was this other thing we did away from school," said Addison, who later talked about the fact that the band is now a full-time job.

"We're already starting to think of the next record, and starting to write. We're always challenging ourselves with new things inspired by things we hear, and we try to capitalize on that."

Keith Ryan Cartwright is a Colorado-based freelance entertainment journalist.