I didn’t ever expect to hear a singer with a voice so weathered he makes Dennis Wilson sound… relatively lucid, but here it is, Cold Water be thy name. I’m also reminded of Plates Of Cake’s Jonathan Byerley and James Jackson Toth at times, until the vocals start crashing and burning on “Buffalo Beans” and the dude’s larynx seems ready to collapse under the weight of his obvious emotion. Hey, that’s rock ‘n’ roll. “Wolf Willow” is a simple, up-tempo, mid-range rocker that has little to do with the desperation of “Beans,” and the contrast will make for an interesting full-length should that urge ever overtake Cold Water. For now, they’ve got a unique front man and a backing band that refuses to recede from the challenge of accompanying such a puzzling singer. A lot of bands trying to nail the Neutral Milk Hotel thing end up sounding like this, and sucking ballz while they’re at it. That Cold Water can keep their heads above it bodes well for the future.
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