REVIEW: The Cold Stares — Heavy Shoes (LP)
Chris Tapp and Brian Mullins, otherwise known as The Cold Stares, are back with their new collection Heavy Shoes. Global pandemic or not, songs must be written, and The Cold Stares have provided with a peak release that hears them as hungry and emphatic as ever. The dozen tracks included on this album trod familiar ground and wear their influences on their sleeves, but there’s no question the band has an identity undercutting any danger of imitation.
URL: https://www.thecoldstares.com/?tag=newmusic
Much of their individuality comes from their sound. Tapp’s unique guitar rig assists in fleshing out the band’s sound and the thump from Mullins’ bass drum reverberates gives each of Heavy Shoes’ dozen tracks hard-hitting power. Tapp is from the riff-school of rock songwriting and this release boasts many of his best so far. The title cut opens the album fueled by one of its finest riffs.
The band’s sound has its feet in dual worlds. There’s the amped up presentation of bluesy hard rock for a modern audience and the band’s lyrical perspective. It isn’t all that common, unfortunately, for bands of this ilk to attempt making substantive lyrical statements. Tapp isn’t attempting to remake the songwriting wheel, his aspirations aren’t untenable, but he possesses a personal affinity for blues and religious imagery far greater than many contemporaries.
“40 Dead Men” is another illustration of how adroitly Tapp and Mullins marry their soulful blues crunch with another fatalistic lyric romp. Tapp’s vocals reach a full-on bray with his performance here and the spaces created within the arrangement come at all the right places. One of the album’s marquee singles is the track “Hard Times”. The subject matter definitely doesn’t break new ground, ruing your bad luck in song is as old as man, but Tapp sings about it with such brio that it feels fresher than ever.
The guitar riff will be magic for hardcore guitar rock fans. One of the defining qualities of Tapp’s playing and the band’s overall sound is how, each time out, they demonstrate such a confident grasp on their sound. The guitar leaps out at listeners once again during the track “Strange Light” and it’s a cut showing Tapp’s understanding of dynamics. Others do as well, but Tapp and Mullins have an innate instinct for when this track should hit hard and when it should pull back.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Shoes-Cold-Stares/dp/B0924XV55Q
“Prosecution Blues” is one of two “blues” tracks included on the collection and has the yowl from the bowels of hell quality distinguishing the band’s best work. No one can ever claim The Cold Stares are a band who pursue half-measures. This is a blasting guitar work out that scarcely relents. The finale “Dust in My Hands” is an appropriately intense closer and has a stronger atmospheric touch than even the fine earlier tracks. This is as emphatic as a statement as we could have hoped for from this powerhouse duo and they sound ready to tackle the post-pandemic environment with the same determination present before the pandemic hit. Heavy Shoes is all killer, no filler.
Colin Jordan
