From tales of heartbreak and lost lovers to train hopping and gravesites, each song tells a resonating story on The Southern, the newest album by dynamic blues-rock trio The Cold Stares, which released September 6th, 2024.
While the group is based in Evansville, Indiana, The Cold Stares deliver an undeniably gritty Southern rock n’ blues vibe to their music, not unlike a ZZ Top or Stevie Ray Vaughan (for some high praise comparisons). This can be attributed to their roots, as lead singer and guitarist Chris Tapp along with drummer Brian Mullins hail from Western Kentucky. The group’s sound has always been branded with a “Southern rock” label, so they decided to lean into the moniker deliberately on the aptly-named album, The Southern.
Ahead of the album’s premiere, the two opening tracks, “Horse To Water” and “Coming Home,” were released as lead singles earlier this year.
“Horse To Water” comes in with anticipatory excitement, chock full of thumping bass, steady percussion, and a classic blues rock guitar that eventually leads into a riff you might hear Billy Gibbons play. It immediately sets the gritty badass tone, as Tapp sings about missing a lover while on the road, determined to find his way back home. “You don’t have to lead this horse to water / Baby I can see my own way through / As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow / I will find my way home to you.”
“Coming Home,” accompanied by an official music video, is about returning to the places that made you who you are. “Now I’m so far away from who I used to be / This way of living it just ain’t no good for me,” Tapp howls. His vocals are raspy and passionate, reflecting on returning to his family and hometown, as the group harkens back to their sonic roots and where it all began.
Fast and groovy, “Confession” features an impressive drum solo from Mullins along with a killer psychedelic guitar riff in the latter half of the song that plays out until the finish, making it a standout track. It’s got some Jimi Hendrix “Fire” vibes in the intro and in the verses, and delivers a message of letting the truth set you free.
The album’s final track, “Mortality Blues,” is solemn and eerie, filled with Southern gothic imagery of plagued travelers and murder. The instrumentation is mellow, made up of only a resonator guitar strum. The narrator of the song asks questions like having God part a raging river in front of him, or to teach him how to navigate the rough uncertain days ahead. “I can’t see how some folks set their mind on dying / When I’m doing my best just to stay alive,” he pleads. The song takes a new light after Tapp’s battle with cancer, appreciating his life as a survivor and wrestling with frustration at society’s lack of such appreciation.
The Southern doesn’t just pay homage to the group’s roots and inspirations, but it carries the torch in the 21st Century for this kind of beloved blues rock n’ roll sound.
Forming initially as a duo in 2012, Tapp and Mullins released five albums and toured extensively across America and internationally, later teaming up with bassist Bryce Klueh in 2022 to establish and round out the trio today. This is their second album as such.
The Cold Stares’ love and appreciation for the genre are apparent in their authentic delivery, what with their fuzzy electric guitar riffs and quintessential Southern storytelling. The 11-track project plays on tropes typical to the genre, delivering a sound any classic blues rock n’ roll lover can dig. The band will be showcasing these new songs and more as they perform throughout the Northeast at the end of this month and into October.
