Album Review: Cold Years - A Different Life

Two years ago, I stumbled across a record that nearly won Album Of The Year, and might have if it wasn't for one song in particular from the eventual winner that hit me like a ton of bricks. The record in question was from Cold Years, and was exactly the blend of Green Day's "Warning" and Jimmy Eat World's "Futures" I could have asked for. It was bouncing and melodic, but played with a darker guitar sound that gave everything extra emotional depth. I've listened to the record time and again since it came out, and it remains every bit as powerful as the first time I heard it. Cold Years immediately shot up the list of newer bands I have hopes and expectations for, so today is an important day.

Following up a great record isn't easy, as you have two paths you could choose to take, and neither is without pitfalls. If you cling too closely to the glory, the result can be a facsimile that only reminds people the new record probably can't hit as hard as the original. If you go in a new direction, the result can drift away from what people loved about your music. The choice is difficult, dangerous, and it's why I have such a difficult time establishing long-lasting relationships with bands or artists.

"A Different Life" is indeed a different album than "Goodbye To Misery" was. In fact, at certain times they don't even sound like the same band made them. Gone is the entire sonic palate I loved so much, replaced with a lighter sound more in line with current pop-punk, so much so even the vocals feel alien to me. I don't know if it was a production choice, but the tonal shift from one album to the next is utterly jarring.

I also don't know if the songs come across as they do because of the choices, or if the choices were made to fit the songs. This record is less of a gut-punch, with a feeling that drifts more toward optimism. The pop-punk sound does befit that approach, but it leaves the record feeling a bit sterile and hollow to me. I'm missing the deeper and fuller mix, and I'm especially missing the more passionate sounding vocals. Even when there's a moment of grit thrown in, the production is thin and flat in a way where it doesn't move the air naturally.

In fact, when the singles for the record started to roll out, the first thing I thought was a mistake was made and the vocals were accidentally pitch-shifted up a step. What was a rumble in his chest on "Goodbye To Misery" now sounds like a sore throat on this record. I'm not sure if I've ever encountered this phenomenon before where a singer's voice moves into higher and thinner territory. I'm hoping this is an artifact of a terrible recording, because otherwise it means the emotional connection I had with Cold Years may be impossibly severed.

As for the songs, the news is better. While they don't have the same power and energy as the songs on "Goodbye To Misery", the bands still produces some lovely melodic moments. Whether it's the chorus of "Low" that doesn't get a reprise at the end, or the reminiscence of "Youth", there are tracks here that remind me of why I had such high hopes for this album.

Unfortunately, those hopes are what make listening to the album such a difficult experience. Through the whole of the running time, I can't escape the question; What happened? The whole of the record sounds too laid-back, too nonchalant. There is a time and a place for detachment as a tool, but this record isn't that place. It works for Taylor Swift on her cold synth-pop, because she's trying to express how she is trying to move past and bury her feelings. Cold Years is a rock and roll band, and that music dies when it doesn't sound like it's being played with passion. That's the most lasting impression this record gives me.

It brings me no joy to say any of this. I wanted to love this record, and in fact it's one of the albums I've been most looking forward to this year. It's a good record, but it's good in the way that is pleasant and 'nice', not in the way that gets under my skin and makes me want to listen to it every day. Good music can still be disappointing, as this year has proven time and again. It's going to be a few cold years until the band can show me whether this record or "Goodbye To Misery" was the fluke.