ALBUM: The Flatliners – Cold World (Equal Vision/Dine Alone/Rude Records)
Canadian punks The Flatliners are back with their seventh studio album, and the big question is whether they can match their previous effort, 2022’s New Ruin.
For me that was the high point of the Toronto band’s 24-year career so far, and it made our Top 10 albums of the year (check out the full list here).
Cold World sees a shift from the rage of that record to something more reflective and quietly defiant, where the fallout of modern life lingers in every hook and lyric.
There’s no reinventing the wheel from the band, who have the same line-up they did in 2002 – Chris Cresswell on lead vocals and guitar, Scott Brigham on guitar, Jon Darbey on bass and Paul Ramirez on drums.
Over the course of 12 tracks they display the same knack for a catchy hook, singalong chorus and heartfelt sentiment as they ever did, and this is an album which delivers a new highlight with every listen.
Whether it’s engaging opener Stolen Valour, which addresses the breakdown of society as we know it, or lead single Good, You?, which shines a light on toxic masculinity, there’s plenty to command your attention.
The riffs are sharp, the rhythm section tight, and Cresswell’s vocals capable of being tender and gritty in the space of a few seconds. That’s the case on Inner Peace, which lays bare the problem of struggling to cope, to wondering why we bother on And They’re Off, which concludes “The horse we’re betting on’s already dead, so what’s the use?”
Pounding drums drive Only Darkness, with its chorus sounding like prime era Foo Fighters, while Whyte Light highlights the positive effect good people can have on your life, as Cresswell sings: “I am me/Because I knew you.”
After a riff-filled opening, Into Annihilation turns into a quiet-loud ballad, with Cresswell’s voice full of its signature grit, and there’s another slower number but no less rumbustious number in Pulpit, which has a delicious throbbing bassline.
There’s lots of melody present throughout this record, and the bright guitars of Turning Signal Rhythm remind me very much of blue collar punks The Menzingers.
As we near the end, the mid-paced Gush pulls off the quiet-loud dynamic like classic Smashing Pumpkins, while the riffs get bigger and punchier than ever for the penultimate Burn and closer United In Spite.
It’s hard to pick a standout track here, because there’s not a bad one among them, and Cold World is an album which grows in stature with every listen. 8/10.
