Released 10.09.2012 on Dais
Los Angeles–based Cold Showers released their sophomore album Love and Regret last week (full stream below), and to be quite frank—nay blunt—I don’t get it.
Every track is written in 4/4 timing, and nearly all of them start in the same formula: Begin with one instrument, play four bars; add another instrument, play four bars, and then (as you’ve likely guessed by now) add another instrument…and play four bars. The entire collection is this predictable, simple and overall, rather unemotional. One might argue that the emotion is in the lyrics, but I’d counter that if the band isn’t feeling anything when they play, it’s entirely likely that I won’t either.
To be fair, let me leave out personal preferences and tell you exactly what I hear: Cold Showers has perfectly pegged that eighties-pop-meets-shoegaze-meets-goth feel. The ominous line, “They will hunt you down” repeated in Violent Cries benefits from the reverb-laden vocals. New Dawn stands out as an upbeat, forward-looking track and the back-up vocals in Seminary sound like labored breathing—which does add nicely to the lyrics “I can’t breath.” In Terms of Pleasure deserves a nod too, if for no other reason than its solid title.
Considering Cold Showers formed in 2010, they’ve done well to release a sophomore album already; but what I hear in Love and Regret is that this group with potential has yet to reach it. Having just two years under their belt though, I’ll be patient and say they’ve got time to grow yet.
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— By Erin Torrance, a recent Publishing graduate venturing into the world of music. Erin lives in a flea-market chic apartment in Toronto with the love of her life and best friend — her cat Bea.
