Cold Cream
Self-Released
2018
Rating: 8 simple beans out of 10
Cold Cream is a supergroup, so long as you consider a local band made up of other established local bands “super.” Since I love all the bands these folks are from, it certainly qualifies as super to me! The line-up of the band is: Clarque Blomquist (Kingsbury Manx) on drums, amazing drummer Laura King (Flesh Wounds, Bat Fangs) for some reason on bass, Ronald Liberti (Pipe) on guitar, and Montgomery Morris (Flesh Wounds, Last Year’s Men) on vocals. Pipe is one of my favorite bands of all time and Bat Fangs put out one of the best records of the year, so I was particularly excited about hearing this release. It measures out at 10 songs in 20 minutes, and is the poster child for the phrase “all killer, no filler.” With Montgomery on vocals, it’s impossible to ignore the Flesh Wounds comparisons, as both bands definitely have a somewhat similar sound, but this feels…more fun than Flesh Wounds maybe? Looser, more adventurous, crazier lyrics – Flesh Wounds always felt so angry and serious, so perhaps injecting local poster king (and master of stage banter) Ron Liberti into the mix results in what we have here. If there is such a genre as “feel good hardcore punk,” I might file this in that section. There are also plenty of moments that aren’t hardcore at all - my favorite track, “See You On The Somme,” reminds me of Eddy Current Suppression Ring – a high compliment in my house.
There are two important things to note about Cold Cream and this particular release…
The good news: you can download this for free at the link in the band name right up there! Well, technically it’s “Name Your Price,” but we all know what that means, you cheapskates! There are also cassette versions floating around out there at some local stores (All Day, Bull City, and Sorry State would be your best bets), I’m sure you could mail order a copy if you wanted from one of those stores or just contact the band. As I no longer possess a car with a cassette player I would gladly pay for a vinyl version, so cross your fingers that will happen someday.
The bad news: Montgomery is moving across the country and I have no idea what that means for Cold Cream. On their social media posts they just say it’s his last show with the band before he moves, but I have no idea if that means they will continue without him, or if the band only exists sporadically when they can get together…who knows. Time will tell I suppose. I would certainly hate for this to be the only Cold Cream release, that’s for sure.
