‘Cold Shoulder’ is about the troubles of being out late, maybe doing a show, being with somebody and then not hearing from them, or just getting the “cold shoulder”.
It’s a piece of music you can move to – the band operating around the tried and tested funk/soul formula and doing it to good effect, but the song has a high enough quality singer with enough verve in his storytelling to be listenable at home.
The track sticks pretty solidly to its funk/soul template, but there are a few influences that spring to mind, the way it opens feels quite like The XX; softly placed instrumentation over a vulnerable voice and the clickety clackety reverb on the guitar in the verses and outro, the track also plays well with the loud/quiet dynamic favoured by many bands.
The bass playing is a particular stand out; very funky, loose and dexterous enough to hold things together well when the track opens up later on.
The singer also shows a good range, swinging in to some Jameriqui style “come on”’s towards the end.
Competent music making; would be enjoyable to see in a live setting.
Words: Tom Wilson
