Family Average: 5/7

Somewhere over in Romania there are four brats shivering it up and churning out some raw, intense punk rock vibes. What resulted was the band Cold Brats and their EP Split 7".  The fam had a listen and the reaction was split right down the middle. Who was ready to rage and who wished they could just go home?

Have a listen and read on to find out.

If I had to summarize Split 7”, I think I’d say “a lot of controlled chaos”.

I like stuff that’s messy with high energy, but found myself not quite able to get into this. It was like it was off by a step, or missing something. The instruments work together for the most part, but there’s something inharmonious. The vocals are your usual punk shouting, but I don’t know if I believe the emotion or the drive. I know the singer will often be distorted in songs like this, but he sounded a bit muffled and distant. There’s a lot of excitement in the album, but it needs more variation so it doesn’t just become white noise. Like when “Hollow Point” ended, I didn’t realize until the music just stopped. There are some noteworthy moments though, like the guitar solos that come in the second half of both songs. And “Broken Birds” has a killer gritty bass-line.

These songs are something I could definitely see people moshing to and having a grand time of it. Or maybe played at a particularly rowdy party. If you don’t think too much about it it’s decent, but if you try to dissect it or really listen to it intently, it kinda falls apart and becomes a bit bland. Like don’t get me wrong they have a nice sound, but it’s nothing impactful.

4/7

Hi Cold Brats I like your graphic design. I also like your “in your face” attitude. Let’s all chill out with the Cold Brats. I get a lot of post punk, and punk music poured into my ears from various sources, this source is quite pleasing to me. The vocals have a fair amount of reverb tacked on to them which I appreciate.

“Cold Brats puts you in a bag and throws you into a cave filled with angry bats”—if I was selling a brochure to visit this EP that would be on the cover in large bold type. I think people would be into the experience. I sure as heck was. We have some really raw power here people. In addition to having the little bit of reverb the vocals also have a fantastic delivery. They are barked out in short, passionate bursts of energy. I can almost feel the hot breath from every word. 

I am curious as to what my dad will make of this. He has always had an aversion to music that has a bit of an aggressive edge to it. That being said he does appreciate guitar solos, and clean recording. Who knows? I sure as heck had a great time with this EP.

Favorite part of the EP really is the vocals. I know, shocking, considering I only mentioned them like five times in the review. There is a lot of nuance in the delivery. I really do think it elevates the EP to a special place. One of my favorite moments comes from the track “Broken Birds” when the voice actually cracks a little bit. Those kinds of slight imperfections add a lot to a track. 

6/7

Okie-dokie, here we go kids. I know that the foundation of Rock and Roll Music is “rebellion”; that the music is meant to shake up the elders and make older generations feel, well, uncomfortable. It’s loud, aggressive, and sometimes unpleasant. Rock proudly states “I am a tough hombre, so back the F….. off” . Well now, I am long past my teenage years. I have mellowed. I no longer feel the need to rebel against society, because I have become society. Now that I am the establishment I’m more on the side of “we must fight and kill the rebel alliance”. As rock has evolved over time, so have I, just in separate directions. What it has become is no longer what I listen to. And so I must say I was never a fan of this new sub-genre. But I do, however, recognize it as music.

And so now we get to Cold Brats. Surprisingly, I did hear competent musicians, and the vocals are spot on for a scream-machine band. There is definitely something there for the listener, and I believe if you are a fan of the scream machine genre, these two growling tracks would soothe your savage beasts.

As William Congreve once said, “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast. Music has the power to enchant even the roughest of people”.

4/7 - “God save the queen, the facist regime, they made you a moron, potential H-bomb…”—Sex Pistols, 1977

Oh yeah… I really liked this EP. I’m pretty sure this won’t get good reviews from some of the others, but for me it was really freaking good. I am a total sucker for that really raw and aggressive sound that Cold Brats put out with both of their songs.

“Broken Birds” and “Hollow Point” both have this intensity that I have been craving for some time now.  The vocals are almost primal and the band does a great job to not totally overpower the instruments to keep that super raw sound that I love. 

Admittedly, I don’t know much about the technical aspects of what I was listening to, but that’s for the other reviewers to talk about. For me the overall sound and energy that these two songs have really left me wanting more. Really big props to the band.

5/7