Cold, Cold Heart are a post-rock trio from the UK who built songs out of minimal guitar and layers of
slow distortion and quiet strings. Don't come here looking for percussion -- these songs cascade in slow
layers without any real "beat".
And let's just talk about that name for a minute: Cold, Cold Heart. I love it, but it is kind of gothy. If
someone wearing all black played you a song with deep voices, thunderous beats, and dark keyboards
and said it was by Cold, Cold Heart you would not be surprised. The name is kind of gothy, but the band
isn't really gothy.
The records starts off with a slow fade in tune called Hannah. A guitar tinkles over a piano
playing a sparse melody while strings saw quietly. The guitar and the piano take turns leading the song
forward, and the overall effect is very lovely.
Wolf Eyes, You're Staring has a lovely piano melody driving it along. And then, in the middle
the guitar swells up under a massive layer of distortion. The distortion seems a little out of place in this
delicate record. Yes, you read that correctly, i said that distortion was out of place. Me, a person who
voluntarily owns Spaceman 3 and Sonic Youth records! It is an odd moment in the otherwise very
delicate and light record.
Cold, Cold Heart up the twang on Stand/Still where the guitar slides along, echoing
tremendously. I like the distortion layered on the guitar towards the end here. It is not as out of place as
on the previous tune.
Megan features prominent sawing strings, a cello droning alongside the piano and the guitar.
This is a lovely strings-driven tune.
I think that An Elegy (For Martha) is the real stunner in this album of beautiful tunes. There is
a lovely guitar riff, a faint hint of overdrive in the end, an organ shimmering, and strings sawing. This is
epic and soaring.
Mountain is a bit slower, the piano driving it along as strings saw faintly. The guitar echoes
along nicely, but that piano bit is just lovely.
And finally the record ends with Anna. The guitar really drones along, and the piano plays a
nice accompaniment. A long slow, droning song to end a long, slow, droning record.
All of the songs here are really lovely. This trio has done some fine work. There are hints of
Hammock and Balmorhea here, but the balance is all their own. Post-rock and neo-classical fans should
definitely seek this out.
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