Concert Review: Cold Fronts Feel Breezy At Bowery Ballroom

There is something really beautiful about an opening artist. There they are: fresh to onlookers’ eyes, ears, and minds. All they can do is either impress or become forgettable because, when you are new, even your worst equates to a fading memory. Thus, I was happy to see Cold Fronts impress at Bowery Ballroom.

The Cold Fronts approach the stage like they do not know they are on it. There is this blissful unawareness to their style that attracts you to them because it un-tense, unpretentious, and completely authentic. These are just a group of guys that want make music and money: DONE! They are not here to give a grand moral lesson, which is why songs like “Holidaze”, “Not The One”, and “Staying in” felt refreshingly thoughtless. I know “thoughtless” is not considered a compliment, but what I am trying to allude to is how wonderful it is to have music that in not trying to be anything but a good song and a chill memory.

Of course, I appreciate music that SAYS something, and wants to spark spiritual revolutions through sonic reverbs. Yet, sometimes, you just want to hear the pleasure of sound when a guitar, bass, and drum unite under a welcoming voice, i.e. Craig Almquist. He has a breezy vocality that allows him to sing tracks like, “Holidaze” and “Let The Record Play”, for their casual remarks on fun and boredom. He leads any talk with the audience like one would their friend who came to see them practice. As they play their songs, there is this banter that, again, is not so much moral stories as much as a running story, in which you, yourself, are a participant.

Cold Fronts’ ability to make you feel as if you have always been a “Cold Fronter” is central to their charm, and makes them the equivalent of “couch pop”. They, literally, sound like they made their songs while sitting on a sofa in a friend’s garage, and I say that as a compliment because the best times we have had have been hanging out with a buddy at home. Thus, The Cold Fronts came and went from the stage like a gust of wind; leaving leaves of likability and desires to hear them again. After all, who does not want to feel like they do not have to think to have a good time. For More Information On Cold Fronts Click Here.