Cold Roses
No Silence in the City
Reviewed by: Jane Roser
The Edge once said, “rock and roll isn’t a career or a hobby-it’s a life force.” With their formidable debut full-length album, No Silence in the City, Philly rockers Cold Roses demonstrate what it means to live and breathe the essence of rock and roll.
Cold Roses spent several days laying down tracks for the album’s 11 songs at Philly’s famed Miner St. Studios; the record was then mixed by R.M. Webb at Cambridge Sound Studios, mastered by Brian Lucy (Black Keys, Ray Lamontagne) in L.A. and produced by Webb and Rob Clancy. No Silence in the City is a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish. Rob Clancy’s intoxicating, tight vocals carry the album; along with Brandon Porter’s dynamic bass lines, Alex Ayala’s pulsating keyboard mastery, Webb’s heart stomping percussion, plus horn accents by Tom Petraccaro on saxophone and Rick Rein on trumpet masterly coming together to prove they really are “gonna rock and roll all night long.”
The opening track “Got No Lovin'” blasts out faster than Dirty Harry’s Smith & Wesson and keeps the ball rolling throughout the entire album; there ain’t a dull moment on here and thank God because I hadn’t had my coffee yet when I first listened to this record and it gave me my morning charge.
“The One You Love” was originally a single the band released in 2013 and it seamlessly fits in here. The song has a fabulously frenetic electric guitar solo that sounds like something you’d hear in a Michael Bay or Ridley Scott film right before the bad guy gets his ass kicked.
I loved the 50’s/60’s Motown vibe of “Leave You Alone”, which incorporates a cool, steady drum beat and horn section that goes down smooth like a full-bodied bourbon.
“Cutting It Close” is perhaps my favorite track on here. With a fun, folksy intro and a beat that teases you along the way, the lyrics had me hanging on every word: “kiddin’ myself that I’m leavin’ her today, ’cause every time I go, she just makes (insert super cool drum beat here) me stay. It’s just one more night locked in her cell. Well, she may look like heaven, but she burns like hell.” …and that, my friends, is how you write a bad ass rock and roll tune.
This is a soulful, dirty, wickedly fun album; one I’ll be blasting all around this city.
Rating: Bad-Ass
