#7. Cold - Shine
As with most years, there was a simmering anticipation for new music at the beginning of this year. I knew that several of my favorite artists were planning on releasing new records, and as with every previous year, I was hoping that my favorite band Cold would also release a record. There had been online rumblings for months, but Cold fans had heard it all before. All the way back in 2017, the band said they were planning on going into studio, even though the only apparent "official" members were singer Scooter Ward and bassist Lindsay Manfredi. It was kind of like Guns 'n Roses Chinese Democracy or the new Tool record. Some noise, but very little substance. And then it happened - the bubbles quickly rose to the top and a new single was announced and released, and them the train started chugging along. Two more singles dropped and suddenly, we had a new record.
The Things We Can't Stop paints a new direction for the band. Where the musical synergy between Ward, Manfredi and guitarist Nick Coyle (of Lifer) is undeniable, the album again deviates from its predecessors to find new life of its own. There are elements of each of their previous records - "Without You" sounds like it was scooped from their Gold discs 13 Ways To Bleed Onstage or Year Of The Spider, while "Snowblind" sounds like the natural progression of their debut record back in 1998. Meanwhile "Better Human" sounds like an outtake from their most recent release, 2011's Superfiction. There's even a wicked cover of Snow Patrol's "Run".
As with the previous disc, it has taken time for this record to really grow on me. Unlike Superfiction, which garnered the #5 hit in 2011 with "The Break", I immediately knew which song was my favorite. I had stayed up late to hear "Shine" at midnight and must've listened to it 5 or 6 times before heading to bed that night. The drums build the song up and work their way throughout the entire song. Ward's lyrical content is fairly clear - rising above bullying. Coyle even has a soaring solo that punctuates the song midway through. The video touches on bullying statistics in children and teenagers, painting a poignant picture about something that direly needs to be changed in this world. As a survivor of severe bullying throughout my school years (to the point that my parents homeschooled me for several years), it was a song that deeply resonated with me every time I heard it. It didn't have to be a song sung by my favorite band to make it into the top 10, but that certainly didn't hurt. As with any great release, I can only hope that it won't be another 8 years before a follow up comes.
Favorite Line: "I wanna see you love your life again, for you"
Title: Shine
Artist: Cold
Album: The Things We Can't Stop
Previous #7s
2018: Jukebox the Ghost - Everybody's Lonely
2017: Cold War Kids - Can We Hang On ?
2016: Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!
2015: Matty Mullins - More of You
2014: Impending Doom - Hellhole
2013: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor)
2012: One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
2011: The Airborne Toxic Event - All I Ever Wanted
2010: Iyaz - Replay
2009: This Ending - Machinery
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