ALBUM REVIEW: Goodbye To Misery – Cold Years
Things seem to have been going from bad to worse in the world recently. The news headlines are bad, to say the least, and it is a whole miserable scene, but COLD YEARS have had enough, as evidenced by their new album Goodbye To Misery. It’s a punk-filled joyride where the band basically tell us they’re fed up with everything – like a giant middle finger to the country and the government and all the bad things in the world. It’s not a lack of caring but paying attention and realising the disgraceful state of affairs we find ourselves in that fuels Goodbye To Misery.
The album opens on 32 and it starts as if it’s going to be a slow, stoic track about how upset the band are. That is until the guitars and drums kick in giving the song a pop-punk feel. “I think I’ve had enough this time“ is the message of this song and it perfectly sets up the message of overall album too. This track is topped off with what feels like a Black Parade-inspired solo which lets you know these guys aren’t messing around.
Britain’s Dead follows and it feels like the aftermath of Anarchy In The UK. We even get an air raid siren and it keeps the punk feel driving the song forward. It’s telling you that you should be angry right now – that you almost have a right to be angry right now – and if you’re not then you’re just dumbed down and not paying attention. The title track is defiant and strong and it’s inspiring. It’s uniting in an anthemic way and it tells everyone to just say goodbye to misery and to let loose, scream, shout, break things, get mad. They’re basically saying we’re all in this together so let’s make it count.
Jane sounds a little reminiscent of early-GREEN DAY. It’s simple straightforward punk and a lot of fun. It strays a little from the rage and venom that’s been on display from pretty much the opening track of the album. It breaks it up nicely before going into Home which is really cool track about not leading a typical life. It’s about being more, and how even though your life might not seem extraordinary you matter and are important.
Wasting Away perfectly describes the last few years and how a lot of people have felt dealing with the pandemic. It’s about how we feel like we’re just wasting away waiting for better days. It is really reminiscent of better times and makes it seem like going outside and just being near people is some kind of myth that just doesn’t happen anymore. Honestly, the pandemic was awful but some good music came out of it and COLD YEARS are proof of that.
Say Goodbye has a real college-rock feel to it. It’s more personal and the band are giving basically the whole country a break with this one. It’s your standard relationship song but it provides a nice buffer to the other tracks on the album. The guitar really comes into its own with the solo on this track. The record closes on Control and it’s the perfect sounding song to close such a brilliant album. It’s uplifting and hopeful with strong a strong message: you can’t always make it on your own, but that’s ok. It’s like even if you are up against everyone and the situation seems hopeless you can make it as long as you have people to stand by you and support you.
COLD YEARS have discovered a winning formula with this latest offering. And it’s not even like they’re doing anything super complex. They’ve just found the words we all need to hear right now and put music to it and created some absolutely blinding tracks with it. COLD YEARS aren’t happy about the state of the country, but fortunately they are more than happy to sing about it.
Rating: 8/10
Goodbye To Misery is set for release on April 22nd via Inside Job/MNRK UK.
Like COLD YEARS on Facebook.