“The Sun Goes Down Alone” is the latest release by Cold Shoulders, a superb band based in Fredrikstad, Norway. Heavily promoted with “Don’t Wanna Fall” and “Down Again,” two marvelous singles released earlier this year that you should check out as soon as possible, this debut full-length album carries nine exceptional compositions suitable for anyone looking for cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music. Lyrically, “The Sun Goes Down Alone” explores relationships, friendships, love, various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, so it’s a highly relatable collection of songs that will undoubtedly resonate with the broader auditorium. Soundwise, Cold Shoulders combines many different but complementary music genres to depict such luxuriant sonic imagery. Perhaps alternative rock comes to mind first, but you will unquestionably notice how some of the finest properties borrowed from indie rock, soft rock, and power pop found their way into the sonic equation. They use all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate this comprehensive collection of songs to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore these experimentations with many different but complementary styles resulted in a catchy, memorable, engaging album that will appeal to anyone who appreciates marvelous alternative rock music and beyond.
As soon as you press play you’ll notice that Cold Shoulders poured heart and soul into their music. Each song arrives with a cleverly assembled structure garnered with intricate segments, brilliant ideas, and marvelous musicianship. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose in this equation making this album an enjoyable listening experience worth repeating over and over again. With the initial notes beats of “Don’t Wanna Fall,” Cold Shoulder prepares you for the entire barrage of ear-appeal orchestrations, wisely and tastefully composed to satisfy even the pickiest ears. You will hear how passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, and powerful vocal performance takes center stage, commanding attention and guiding the listening apparatus from scratch to finish. These vocal harmonies emphasize everything these clever musicians intended to achieve with their music while lyrical content gives emotional depth and complexity to already intricate songs. It is difficult to pick a stand-out track because they all carry some of the finest vocal performances you’ll hear in today’s alternative and indie rock scene. You will also notice how the additional back vocals and singalongs spice things up and elevate everything to new heights. In the meantime, the interplay between rhythm and lead guitars shapes a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You will hear how cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed, memorable, catchy, chord progressions and riffs resonate on one side while the other shines with beautiful leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic delicacies. It is nearly mindblowing how all these guitar works match with vocals harmoniously during each song. Of course, the entire album carries many moments where this symbiosis between vocals and guitars, but songs like “Don’t Wanna Fall,” “I Will Break,” Through My Arms,” “Blood Red Sun,” “No More Honey,” “When The Time Is Right,” “Neon Lights,” are unquestionable standouts.
Of course, the band included many other instrumentations along the way. You’ll undoubtedly notice how some synth leads, melodies, harmonies, accentuations, ambiance, and other sonic acrobatics lurk around in the mix. Songs like “Blood Red Sun” and “Neon Lights” are excellent examples of how all those memorable guitar works flawlessly match all those subtle or more notable synthetic works, making these tracks even more ear-appealing. “The Sun Goes Down Alone” wouldn’t sound this good without the equally impressive rhythm section. The profoundly detailed, audible, warm low-ends rumble beneath guitars and synths, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while binding together all these orchestrations with rhythmic patterns. These bass lines deliver warmness and heaviness to an already powerful song, making them more detailed and stable. In the meantime, the experienced drummer delivers an excellent drumming performance through expertly assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, groovy beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. Each instrument has its place in purpose in this sonic equation, so a tremendous listening experience is more than guaranteed. Cold Shoulders thought about even the tiniest details and nuances, so if guitars and synths act as a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon then the bass and drums serve as a backbone, binding everything together.
“The Sun Goes Down Alone” is a magnificent collection of songs and one of the finest debut alternative rock albums you’ll hear this year. The tremendous experience, knowledge, skills, and ideas shine from these exceptional musicians, who unquestionably proved that alternative and indie rock music can still sound fresh, unique, innovative, and exciting. It’s one of those recordings where each vocal harmony, chord progressions, and drum beat resonates with ultimate precision, emotion, sincerity, and power, delivering a tremendous listening experience for even the pickiest fans of the genre. “The Sun Goes Down Alone” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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