Album review: Cold In Berlin – Give Me Walls
Formed in 2008 by My(vocals), Adam(guitar), Alex(bass) and Bozley(drums), Cold In Berlin have spent the last couple of years touring the UK, building up a fanbase and and generally scaring the living daylights out of people with their brand of apocalyptic and nihilistic punk. Two years on and they are on the eve of their debut release. For most bands this would mean a limited edition single or maybe even an EP. Cold In Berlin however have gone straight for the long player, and so a couple of days ago ‘Give Me Walls’ landed on my doormat.
More a psychological assault than an album, ‘Give Me Walls’ contains ten tracks filled with intense vocals, repetitive drum beats and distorted guitars. As singer My spits and screams her expletive filled lyrics her voice sounds like a blend of the strong, uncompromising female artists she no doubt lists as her influences; Siouxsie Sioux is the most obvious but PJ Harvey, Hazel O’Connor, Lydia Lunch and especially Amanda Palmer are also in evidence. Musically it’s loud, abrasive and loaded with energy; each of the ten tracks here are driven by the frankly awesome, pounding drums ably assisted by the crunching guitar. It’s amazing how much noise four people can generate; I’ve heard Cold In Berlin being compared to grunge giants Mudhoney, and while that doesn’t particularly come across on record It’s not difficult to imagine that when they’re played live these songs could be a serious assault on the ears! As for the lyrics, well ‘White Horses’ sums up ‘Give Me Walls’ quite nicely; ‘There is no white horse/you’re a stupid little fucker if you thought there was’ sings My and I feel totally put in my place.
For a debut record ‘Give Me Walls’ is quite an astonishing achievement. Though the band’s sound may be influenced by the punk/new wave/no wave bands of the late seventies and early eighties it sounds remarkably fresh and relevant and I haven’t stopped playing since I got it. Superb!9/10
Mark Cousens
Out 29th November
No related posts.
