Formed in 2015, THE COLD BLOODED HEARTS are fronted by English former football / soccer player and current manager Gareth Ainsworth (Queens Park Rangers) along with guitarist and songwriter Lee-Van Sergeant, drummer Luke ‘Chalky’ Sergeant and bass guitarist Ron Campbell.
Not that Ainsworth is a stranger to music, having been playing with guitarist Lee-Van Sergeant for over 20 years, originally in Dog Chewed Handle. Now known as The Cold Blooded Hearts, they have released their first ever album titled “The Cold Light Of Day” released by Cherry Red Records, summarizing their many years of writing together.
The record features 10 cuts of pure rock n’ roll (with a bonus eleventh track) and was produced by YES keyboardist, renowned Geoff Downes.
The Cold Blooded Hearts debut album “The Cold Light of Day” is British classic rock. Certainly, there’s a hard rock edge to several of the songs, without needing to go flat out at any time. Ainsworth’s got a soulful voice, slipping across a range of styles, from the deeper richness of opener ‘High’, through the rousing emotions of ‘Hollow’ to the final acoustic strains of ‘Conspiracy of Silence’.
The songs are well constructed and excellently performed. The musicianship is high quality, with the guitar work subtle, clever, and compelling. Bassist Ron Campbell and Sergeant on the 6-strings don’t do anything flashy but hold the low end and rhythm with an ease that only comes with a certain type of confidence.
At 52-minutes in length, there is plenty of time to expand and provides opportunity to explore. There are a few influences that stand out. ‘Eastern Sunrise’ has an uncanny resemblance to parts of ‘Centrefold’ by the J Geils Band, whilst ‘Worth Waiting’ rolls back to the classic ’80s hard rock sound of Thunder.
The variation in tempo all over the CD works well, so up-beat songs like ‘Worth Waiting’ and ‘Love’s Lost’ are deliberately followed by calmer, more measured songs. ‘Cold Road’ is a smashing track, with a shimmering intro that builds, Ainsworth’s delivery influenced by the early Seventies.
And then you get the stomp of ‘Tell Me!’ which throws off any shackles in possibly the most riotous song on the album.
Perhaps the stellar track though is the penultimate song ‘Broken Sky’. At over eight-minutes long, it’s by far the more rich musically, with female vocals adding to the overall vibe of the song. It’s a grand, rock gospel-like track that builds in the way that The Answer or Black Star Riders’ Ricky Warwick do so well.
In fact, there’s more than a touch of Warwick about the lyrics, telling stories as the album moves along.
Overall, this is an enjoyable debut, which for sure got better on repeated spins. Something tells me that the former football player known as the ‘Wild Thing’ may have a small hit on his hands here.
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
01. High (4:29)
02. Love's Lost (3:53)
03. Hollow (5:41)
04. Eastern Sunrise (4:07)
05. Worth Waiting (4:04)
06. Cold Road (3:58)
07. Tell Me! (3:26)
08. She Ain't In Love With Me (5:28)
09. Grey (4:45)
10. Broken Sky (8:13)
11. Conspiracy Of Silence (4:48)
The Cold Blooded Hearts – The Cold Light Of Day (2023)
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