Cold Cold Hearts

(Kill Rock Stars)
by Rowan-Morrison

If Kill Rock Stars is to be given credit for anything, it should be consistency. Unlike a lot of other labels that are constantly searching for an identity, you usually know what you’re going to hear on a KRS release. With that in mind, fans of KRS will not be disappointed by Cold Cold Hearts‘ traditional Olympia-styled offering. The rest of the indie-rock world, however, might be a little tired of this recycling process. C.C.H. features post-Bratmobilers, Erin Smith and Allison Wolfe, with two other women, all of whom seem bent on emulating Bikini Kill. In other words, they dish out a catchy batch of raw pop punk with aggressive melody-vacant vocals and empowered lyrics. For the coup de grace, the recording quality evokes images of a garage-based studio, but it’s most likely an intentional technique to sidestep the slicker commercial template. Although comparisons often trivialize bands, Cold Cold Hearts will have a difficult time evading allusions to being a harsher version of Bratmobile or a Bikini Kill Jr. However, if the Olympia punkette blueprint still feels fresh in your disc player, make room in your collection for this foursome.