The Cold Field – Hollows

If you have been paying attention you’ll recognise this band from earlier in the month when I posted their debut album ‘Black River’. It stands to reason that Coldwave and Australia are perhaps not obvious bed-fellows, but then, that’s stereotypes for you. I’ve never met an unhappy Scandinavian but… well… Black Metal. ‘Hollows’ is The Cold Field’s sophomore album after 2020’s debut release ‘Black River’. Conceived when hospitalised, songwriter and producer Ian Messenger wrote and produced a prolific forty-odd dark-minded songs the following year, of which ten were chosen for ‘Hollows’. Depressive themes of gloom and emptiness pervade the album but there is also a triumph against the darkness, a fist-waving into the void, and intimacy along with detachment.
So, putting aside the fact that The Cold Field are a duo from Adelaide, ‘Hollows’ shrouds itself very much in the foggy vapours of drum machines, bass guitar, synthesizers, electric guitars and distorted, cavernous vocals. Built on said sonic foundations, The Cold Field's sound not only harks back to the early '80s and Joy Division but also showcases influences from contemporary bands such as Lebanon Hanover, Soft Kill, Ritual Howls and a host of similarly troubled-sounding earnest young men. 

The Cold Field - Black River

If you’re ready for a wild, dark night, take a ride with Australia’s The Cold Field, who have a new video for their cinematic song, Hunters, off their debut album Black River. Hunters narrative lyrics weave a tale of an anxious young woman alone in a cab whose final destination is fated to unknown tragedy during the after-hours of a bleak cityscape and a disconnected state of consciousness. Inspired by Cold Showers‘ 2012 hit song and video BC in many ways, the minimal coldwave tune reflects a contemporary experience in a “sharply contemporary world.” The track features hypnotic beats with treacherous bassline and eerie guitar reverb, as broken male cries sink below the stinging icy synth stabs, enhancing the sinister atmosphere of unseen danger and exploited naïveté. It is a nod to the melodramatic subgenre of classic car tragedy songs, explored by everyone from Porter Wagoner to Jan and Dean to The Normal, but with an Unsolved Mysteries-meets-shoegaze twist.
“Our lyrics and our music tackle themes of urban isolation, depression, and melancholy amongst first world excesses that in time give little consolation towards our unrelenting human condition,” says the band. The surreal visuals blur a mysterious car ride upon a deserted city street, while a single electric blue bolt charges the abstract backdrop with fear and dread.
Formed by Adelaide’s Ian Messenger (vox, guitar, synth, drums) and Heath Newberry (bass) in the winter of 2018, The Cold Field spans the gamut of coldwave to synth punk.  The duo’s mutual interests led to an exciting exploration of sound as they took their cues from classic groups like Joy Division, the Doors, and the Cure, as well as from more contemporary bands like Cold Showers, Black Marble, Soft Moon, Lebanon Hanover and Ritual Howls. The writing and production of Black River spanned winter 2018 to autumn of 2020. The Cold Field explains their unique process: “The heart of our studio is our Chandler TG Microphone Cassettes. This is a replication of an EMI console used on The Cure and Pink Floyd, and gives a sound and life to the music we couldn’t achieve without this hardware.” The band has been championed by Obscura Undead, and in June 2020 the video for Hunters was featured as video of the day in White//Light White Heat.