Customer Reviews
Splendid, moving music 
2008-05-19
Sia has a wonderful voice and great talent as a songwriter - a gorgeous, heartfelt album for all lovers of female singer/songwriters.
SIA - Colour The Small One 
2008-02-08
I was up late watching Conan O'Brien show and SIA was the featured artist. The song I heard isn't on this album but none the less this album grew on me. There is one song that has been used in many films and TV shows and it's still one of my fav's. This album reminds me of Dido mixed with a little cranberries. I think the recordings are great and the mix was done very well. This album is a great ride all the way through.
Sia does it again 2008-01-08
Beautiful album. I was so happy to discover Sia since I have been a Zero 7 fan for many years. Sia has such a soulful voice that I don't tire of. A must for Zero 7 and Sia fans.
Sia 2007-08-14
This cd is a great find. It is kind of slow at times, but the songs grab you and stay with you.
Great to chill out to 2007-07-20
I am vaguely familiar with the musical stylings of Sia. I have heard some of her collaborations with the downtempo duo Zero 7. She was the only good thing that I liked about Zero 7 whose music I find rather dreary and uninspiring. I recently came across Sia's 2006 re-release of her album COLOUR THE SMALL ONE. I thought I would check it out. I have to say that I definitely like her solo work than any fo the stuff she has done with Zero 7. Her music is a pleasant mix of pop, folk, and trip hop music, perfect music to listen to while enjoying a cup of coffee while reading the morning paper. The only flaw with her music is that it sounds pretty much the same like her stuff with Zero 7. Still I find her solo music more pleasant to listen to. I really like the delicate melodies and her fragile vocals on songs like "Re-write" and "Breathe Me". The one song I really wasn't too fond of is "Sweet Potato" because of the melody (or lack thereof) and Sia's voice which sounds out of tune. The remixes were alright but I could have lived without them all the same. For all its minor flaws, COLOUR THE SMALL ONE is a very good chillout cd, much better than any Zero 7 cd IMO.
New mold of songwriting 2007-05-08
Listening to
Colour the Small One seems almost rude, as though you've just crept into someone's bedroom unannounced and read their diary, or even eavesdropped into a private conversation. A lot of this is down to Sia's voice; a soft, intimate, languorous affair that has the unsettling effect of being simultaneously sad and seductive. A couple of years on from her R&B-tinged debut and those classic pairings with Zero 7, the Australian vocalist has come a long way. The music here consists of basic frameworks of rhythm, enhanced by subtle percussion, folky harmonica and nothing more obtrusive than that secretive, melancholic voice. There's certainly room to breathe and Sia unfolds at her own leisurely pace. Opener "Rewrite" works the sad verse/sunny chorus formula to perfection, while "Sunday" turns "Strawberry Fields" harmonium into big orchestral trip-hop. "Sweet Potato" sours the flow, sounding contrived and too like Nelly Furtado for its own good, but "Bully", a collaboration with Beck Hansen, has a sweet melody that belies its subject matter. As cries for help go, this is up there with the best. --
Paul Tierney
Her name drew me in first 2007-04-05
I went to the store to buy a Zero 7 CD. The clerk asked me if I was familiar with the female singer on the CD named Sia. I looked at him with a smile and asked "Who?".He repeated her name. I was smiling because her name sounds exactly like what my sisters call me, although my name is Cecelia. It is written "Ceya" when they've written their version of my name. Needless to say to all who are reading this: THE GIRL AIN'T PLAYIN'!! She struck me like an open-hand slap when I heard her sing "You don't know me...." on the opening of REWRITE. I am a Black 46yr old female who may have lived every song on the CD. 'SUNDAY' has a rolling, lazy funk about it. 'NUMB' ain't lyin'....'THE CHURCH OF WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW' has Sia pleading "Go away yesterday" as if they're her last words. I just fell in love with her. I consider her a Master Wordsmith. She is a voice I find myself having to hear every day since buying this CD. She speaks to me. Oh! and I can't forget those fantabulous musicians who are doing a hellified job crafting those melodies. This Ceya LOVES Sia!!!
A little slow and boring, but once known, worth the time. 
2007-04-01
Sia is hard to get attached to. Her music is slow, and not all that original. Her voice is what drew me in on the single, Sunday, but on most of her other tracks, she doesn't stretch it, and it gets kind of boring. On the whole though, once you get used to the melody (if they have one) of the songs, it becomes comforting to hear them. Almost like going home after working all day.
Simple, acoustic-esque style with hints of Dido and jazz/blues overtones 2007-03-22
Very satisfying purchase. "Colour the Small One" has a simple, near-acoustic rock style which, along with Sia's vocals, are reminiscent of Dido's "Life for Rent" and include many jazz and blues overtones. Guitar, brass instruments, synth organ, and even the xylophone are tastefully blended with both fast and slow percussion in amounts that are often quite complex, yet carefully avoid the "noise rock" effect. Unlike Dido, the lyrical content avoids any edgy or potentially offensive territory, making this album safe for any casual listening audience. Presently lingering near the top of my playlist rotation.
Not Impressed 
2007-03-15
I expected more from such a soulful vocalist. This album does her no justice. The music is poppy and the vocals are sometimes too soft and muffled to the point where it sounds like she is not even opening her mouth. It gets annoyingly whiney at certain points. I was not pleased at all. I hope she picks it up a bit next time. Her stuff with Zero-7 was much more enjoyable and emphasized the potential in her vocal style.
