Cold Summer released their EP, ‘Fight To Survive’ on 1 April. The six track EP is one full of anguish and pain, but in the end triumph over adversity.
We’ve reviewed a few hardcore bands in recent months, and each time we’ve been struck by the absolute heartwrenching lyrics, soul-felt and sorrowful. Cold Summer is no different; we’ve reviewed the first two songs from this EP, ‘Bear Eats Wolf’, and ‘A Time Imagination Forgot To Inspire’, and both times we were moved by the powerful imagery of the lyrics. We said of ‘A Time…’:
Likewise, song two, ‘Bear Eats Wolf’. We spoke with the band about the songs, and they described the song this way:
“‘Bear Eats Wolf’…is quite a personal track to Dan about positively overcoming anxiety and depression. The wolf is a symbol of the negative state of mind, a powerful and determined animal that can’t be outrun and is hard to overcome, whereas the bear emphasises the strength that needs to be found to overcome the troubles caused by the wolf.”
The screamed lyrics aren’t to everyone’s taste, but they are powerful in how they convey the angst and anxiety, and feel that they could be quite cathartic for both the singer and the lyricist. Listening to third track, ‘Car Crash (In Progress)’, which the band describe as about the state of the nation, you realise how deep the lyrics actually are, and how politically astute the band is. We’ve found this to be a characteristic of a lot of hardcore music – intelligent lyrics with a deep message to share. “We are a car crash that is in progress, there ain’t no time left, we’re in the ocean”. We’re running out of time to sort out the political and economic situation in the world today – if we don’t actually pull ourselves together and sort it out, we’re literally going to run into the ocean.
Song four, ‘Coins Fall (But Don’t Make It)’ about money running people’s lives, is again, stirring. It’s encouraging that a young band like Cold Summer can see the problems around them and are actively vocalising this.
Penultimate song, ‘Waiting’, has a more rocky feel to the others, and yet at the same time has a stronger feeling of desperation. What are we waiting for? Why aren’t we doing something to sort things out? Again, it touches the social conscience.
Final song, ‘Something, Nothing, No-One’, is a follow up song to ‘A Time Imagination Forgot To Inspire’, and speaks of a world where people no longer have their own thoughts, no longer make up their own minds, their telly is broken, they can’t go on, “they will be something, nothing to no-one”.
‘Fight To Survive’ is a strong album, a the vocals of course take the forefront, but musically it’s also superb, with the soaring guitars occasionally breaking free and giving everything they’ve got. The drumming is also top notch, and underpins the music.
You can find Cold Summer online on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Youtube. Check out their merchandise store as well.
