SIA (1975 – )
MUSIC ::: REVIEW :::

Colour the Small One (2004)

Years before "Chandelier" made Sia one of the biggest names in pop music, there was Colour the Small One. Released in 2004, the album quietly introduced an extraordinary songwriter and vocalist whose emotional honesty would eventually captivate the world. Many American listeners first encountered Sia when "Breathe Me" closed the final episode of HBO's Six Feet Under, but by then this remarkable record had already been waiting to be discovered.

Deeply moving. Profoundly melancholy. A thing of uncommon beauty.

Fifty-two minutes later, it feels as though you've survived the most revealing therapy session of your life and finally understand what was weighing on you all along. It taps into the same emotional territory as Johnny Cash's haunting interpretation of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." Sia's voice is effortlessly expressive yet wonderfully fragile, weaving layer upon layer of harmonies that seem to float just above the music.

The production is equally distinctive. Modern electronic beats sit beside acoustic instruments that feel borrowed from another era—vibraphones, harmonica, dulcimer, strings, and acoustic guitars creating a sound somewhere between Portishead and Massive Attack, with echoes of Tim Hardin, Neil Young's After the Gold Rush, and Bobbie Gentry. "The Bully," co-written with Beck, is a particular highlight. Long before Amy Winehouse became a global phenomenon, Sia was already exploring similarly soulful vocal phrasing while carving out an unmistakably original musical identity of her own.

Sia's breakthrough with "Chandelier" in 2014 wasn't an overnight success—it was the culmination of years spent evolving as an artist. Growing up in Adelaide, she first made her mark in Australia's funk, acid jazz, and trip-hop scenes before relocating to London, where early singles like "Taken for Granted" hinted at the remarkable career ahead. By the time Colour the Small One arrived, she had already become one of popular music's most compelling voices. Looking back, this album feels less like an early chapter than a masterpiece waiting patiently for the rest of the world to catch up.

Tracks

• Rewrite
• Sunday
• Breathe Me
• The Bully
• Sweet Potato
• Don't Bring Me Down
• Natale's Song
• Butterflies
• Moon
• The Church of What's Happening Now
• Numb
• Where I Belong