Label: Inside Job/eOne
Released: 4th September 2020
Rating: ★★★★
When Cold Years announced the release of their debut album back in February, vocalist Ross Gordon explained how it drew on “how fucked everything is at the moment”. At that point, ‘Paradise’ was set to be released in May. Now, as September rolls around and the cogs of industry machinery finally starts to grind into a low gear once more, it arrives into an even more perilous world.
A record threaded with the injustice of a generation left behind by those that came before, its message only rings louder as time moves on. With sure foundations and a hefty engine, ‘Life With A View’ and ‘Night Like This’ both drive with sincere spirit – classic, meaty rock music unconcerned with paper-thin pretence. When they let rip, Cold Years shine brightest; ‘Burn The House Down’ is almost visceral in its frustration, while ’62 (My Generation’s Falling Apart)’ matches melody with frustration at an unjust society.
Raw with passion and grit, ‘Paradise’ might be an ironic title, but it’s also an album that finds catharsis in an honest truth. Disaffected with society’s direction of travel, watching opportunity slip out of view, it’s packed with campfire songs for the burning embers of long broken promises. While things might only get increasingly more difficult and unjust, the message behind Cold Years’ debut only becomes ever more poignant. As opener ’31’ cries loud; “fuck it all”. Pissed off never sounded so righteous.
