Greek Philosopher Heraclitus once said, “Nothing is permanent, but change.” The world is constantly in a state of transformation and the inhabitants, us humans, are inevitably affected.
I believe the humans that seem to be impacted by the chaos of the world are musicians. Musicians possess the ability to take emotion and create things of magical proportions, songs. If that isn’t a superpower, then I don’t know what is. One of the most prolific songwriters of my lifetime, hands down, is Scooter Ward founder and enigmatic frontman of the band Cold. Cold, still fronted by Ward, dropped their newest album, The Things We Can’t Stop, on Friday the 13th, 2019, and boy howdy will it knock you on your chukkas! As much as I want to do a song by song break down of this transformative album, time and space are not conducive to that happening. So, buckle up buttercups and read on as I reveal what my favorite tracks of this album are and why.
The twelve-track album opens with a spoken intro that bleeds into the goosebump-inducing, immensely uplifting song of perseverance, “Shine”. The aggressive, authoritative double kick drum hook seizes the listener’s cerebral matter right from the song’s onset. The track as a whole is superbly crafted but It is frontman Scooter Ward’s compassion filled elocution of the relatable lyrics the seep into your very soul and entangle themselves with your very essence.
I am generally not a fan of covers; I feel the integrity of the original songwriter’s emotions get lost in the fray. The 5th track “Run”, originally wrote and recorded by Snow patrol, changed my mind about covers. The adaptation Ward and his Cold bandmates did of this song orbits well out of the normal realm of what a cover is thought to be. I actually hate to even call Track 5 a cover, track five is simply Cold paying homage to Snow Patrol by taking an already majestic song and recrafting it to reflect Cold‘s unique flair. Don’t’ take my word for it, listen to Cold‘s version then listen to Snow Patrol’s version, you will thank me for enlightening you!
The 7th track, “Without You”, treats the listener to a taste of the cloying bitterness of the first couple of Cold albums. Scooter Ward’s vocal tone speaks volumes without even listening to the lyrics. The tempo is urgent and seeking, a whirlwind of confusion.
I wanted to mention Track 9, “The One That Got Away”, simply because of the ethereal guitar hook adroitly delivered by guitarist Nick Coyle. Coyle’s delivery is bewitching, to say the least. The guitar line hangs above the vocals like an exquisite wisp of smoke.
The final track, “We All Love”, stopped me right in my Skullgurl tracks, literally. The song opens with a gently flowing piano intro and Nick Coyle’s vocals, silky and surreal. Scooter Ward’s voice pierces through the dreamlike cocoon created by Coyle’s voice. Lyrically, vocally, instrumentally this song is a brilliantly burning supernova.
Simply put, every song on this album is a rare masterpiece. The very core of this album is haunting yet comforting. I can honestly say that this album is one of the best I have reviewed in 2019. Scooter Ward has proven once again that he does not merely make music, he extracts every note, every word, right from the very depth of his soul. I cannot stress this enough, GET THIS ALBUM.
