CD Review: Cold Summer – “Fight to Survive”

Following in the ample footsteps of post-hardcore’s early trendsetters like Boysetsfire and Hot Water Music (with just the right sprinkling of Snapcase influence), Cold Summer prove that old school is cool with their latest EP, Fight to Survive. Gritty vocals, angular guitars and an undercurrent of heavy atmospherics set the tone on Fight to Survive from the outset of opener “Bear Eats Wolf,” while the memorable and melodic “A Time Imagination Forgot To Inspire” perfectly builds, crests and crashes, incredibly raw vocals quarterback soaring hooks on the standout “Car Crash (In Progress),” “Coins Fall (But Don’t Make It)” sounds like a long lost b-side from Boysetsfire’s After the Eulogy and “Waiting,” perhaps Fight to Survive’s heaviest track, featuring the EP’s most menacing riffs (though the opening riff and vocal refrains of the closing “Something, Nothing, No – One” comes pretty damn close). Fans of both old school and new should flock to Fight to Survive, an EP that shows as much promise as any release you’ll hear anytime soon. 

Grade: B

Go Download: “Car Crash (In Progress)”