Title: Last Embrace
Artist: The Cold
Genre: Gothic, Alternative, Indie
Release Date: 5th June 2009
Label: Alice in ...
Album Review
There is a kind of music that is timelessly beautiful and I would never get weary of it. And there is a recipe how to compose it: Take a proper pinch of melancholy, add distinctive vocals, a catchy and guitar-driven soundscape and embellish it with playful and at the same time moody Synth effects. Of course, it may be a bit darker and it definitely has to comply with the requirements to work live on a concert stage. Is that asking too much regarding German music today?
No, it isn´t, as the Frankfurt-based formation THE COLD is able to demonstrate with its recent album `Last Embrace´. Since 1997, Alexander Meister (bass), Timo Schardt (keyboards, guitar), Robby Lehmann (drums), Torsten Köhler (guitar) and Uwe Liebscher have been making music together - more than a decade of being in the music business. That´s clearly audible as well as the passion for the standards setting New Wave sound of the early 1980s and the musician´s affinity to cult bands such as JOY DIVISION and THE CURE.
Thus, time-travelled bass lines, hypnotic THE CURE-like guitars and lead singer Uwe Liebscher’s whiny vocals (that are a matter of taste, though I like them) dominate the long-player´s tracks. The opening up-tempo song `Profane Advice´ could have been taken from a record of THE COLD idols: Strumming guitars are combined with ethereal keyboard sounds; the wailing vocals imply world-weariness as well as the pensive lyrics. Starting in a gentle and restrained way, the track `Just for Tonight´ is my personal highlight on the album that grows to an absorbing elegiac piece with a simmering guitar riff; less sad, but no less thrilling, `Seaside Vacancy´ is another real gem sounding very retro and coming up with Post Punk devices. The experimental and adjuratory `Set the Controls´ radiates the spirit of psychedelic PINK FLOYD compositions. Finally, `Reason´ invites the attentive listener to dream and to have a rest, though it isn´t a ballad, but pure melancholy.
To arrive at the conclusion: `Last Embrace´ is a timeless tribute to the sound of the New Wave generation. Although the musical originality is debatable, the recording can be seen as an accomplished homage.
Tracklist
01. Profane Advice – 5:33
02. What Would you Say – 5:18
03. Just For Tonight – 7:19
04. Vicious Circle – 4:15
05. Pain Is Still Inside – 4:38
06. Farewell – 5:46
07. Seaside Vacancy – 5:13
08. I Don´t Wanna – 2:58
09. Set the Controls... - 8:02
10. Reason – 7:15
Line-up
Alexander Meister – bass
Timo Schardt – keyboards, guitar
Robby Lehmann – drums
Torsten Köhler – guitar
Uwe Liebscher – vocals, guitar
Website
http://www.thecold.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/thecoldspace
Cover-Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
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