Review COLD YEARS ‘Goodbye to Misery’

Scottish rock outfit Cold Years is the brainchild of Ross Gordon. The band, the premiered in 202 with ‘Paradise’, blends the explosiveness of punk rock with fine crafted melodies and the power of rock’n’roll. This mixture is the base for the sophomore album from Cold Years.

’Goodbye to Misery’ is the title of their second release, an album that features twelve songs. The title indicates a change, and the album is basically built on it. There are many things that changed. There are/were the restriction of a pandemic, and the while world changes quicker and quicker. And there are personal changes for Gordon too, who left his hometown Aberdeen to find a new home in Glasgow. It’s an easy thing to drown in moaning and misery. At the same time, it is important to not get lost on a downwards-spiral of frustration.

There also comes an opportunity with a situation when nothing is a given anymore. There is a chance to try new things and be more daring instead of just playing safe. The moment at least becomes equally important as the far away future.

Cold Years approached the album with such a mindset. Gordon, together with his bandmates Fin Urquhart and bassist Louis Craighead, wrote songs that are rebellious and at the same time looking forward, instead of getting caught in misery that album has an optimistic vibe, combined with a strong willpower to address things that go wrong today. The angry ‘Britain is Dead’ is a good example. The song does not really come with a political message. It is more the moral side the band thematizes. The song is a critical view on a world with people fighting for toilet paper as well as an immoral political system.

And since ‘change’ is a key term for the album, the closer is entitled ‘Control’ and gives a more optimistic outlook into the future since everybody has the chance to do something. The entire mindset of the album is also reflected in the music itself. Guitar power, well-crafted melodies and great hooks sometimes remind of bands like Green Day and ‘Headstone’ is one of these moments. Listening to this album is a very entertaining experience since good songs go hand in hand with a rebellious mindset. Check it out.