www.needleinthegroove.co.uk: Matt Mitchell & The Coldhearts

Thursday 11 April 2019

Matt Mitchell & The Coldhearts - 'S/T' Album Review

Matt Mitchell & The Coldhearts

British Singer / Song writer Matt Mitchell (PRIDE / FURYON / COLOUR OF NOISE) has recently had the chance to embark on the journey of recording his long awaited debut solo record. Matt started out singing and writing songs in his late teens learning his craft in several bands early on, he then found himself as the voice of AOR band PRIDE who released two albums in the mid 2000’s on EMI Toshiba / Pointmusic.

FURYON was Matt's next project. Formed out of the demise of PRIDE a heavier style evolved, with much love and praise from the likes of CLASSIC ROCK & METAL HAMMER magazines.The band had a great run touring UK/Europe and performed at several major festivals including DOWNLOAD, BLOODSTOCK and Poland’s gigantic WOODSTOCK festival.

Not long after the release of the second album the band was put on ice so that the band members could spend more time song writing and considering their future.

At this point Matt joined LITTLE ANGELS guitarist Bruce John Dickinson forming the much lighter bluesy sounding COLOUR OF NOISE. A good two year run was had with the band. An album was released, followed by lots of touring and yet more major festival slots. COLOUR OF NOISE were to leave things on a high in 2017 and with one door closing another soon opened in the shape of Matt's solo project with guest players - MATT MITCHELL & THE COLDHEARTS.

"I’m aware that sometimes an album is just for the love of rock n roll and I do love that. It’s on my agenda", explains Matt. "It could be a song about a car, or thunder and lighting. However, the main stories on this album are all about people. The people that have been part of my life, the people that have loved, cared, nurtured, hurt, inspired, broken, stayed strong, lost themselves, found themselves. Family, friends, honesty, dishonesty, music and the music business, integrity and faith. The songs in this self-titled album are inspired by all these things.’’

Opener ‘Black Diamonds’ is a great choice to kick off the album, and has a nice swagger and feel to it. I was sold as soon as I heard the Hammond! Mitchells vocals sit very nicely without overdoing anything. The balance of riff to vocal ratio is very nice!! The room would be bouncing when played live. When you think you have someone sussed, up comes ‘Home’ with its jingly-jangly guitar and is the yang to Black Diamonds ying! Already two songs in, you know you’re in for a ride.

‘On and On’ almost has an (almost) Bryan Ferry ‘In Crowd’ riff, before another lovely Hammond solo. ‘Dare You To Watch’ is again different and a bit more laid back, but is not lacking in punch. Mitchell is so far showing he has a lot of strings to his bow and is not to be typecast. ‘Kings & Queens’ is proof positive of this, its more poppy than rock, but hits a spot. ‘Unavailable’ goes heavier and is one of the big highlights so far. ‘Do You Wanna Be My God’ could be a cast iron hit in MTV America, but these days are unfortunately a long way gone. ‘Old Enough And Ugly Enough’ is very Tom Petty, and proves to be a good laid back ballad. ‘Everything To You’ has a definite U2 guitar sound to it, and ‘Keep Me Safe’ has a languid and country sound, with some nice lap steel guitar. Finally its ‘Waiting For The Sun’ sets its sights on a big finish and achieves it.

There a lot of lighter songs on offer, and I personally prefer the heavier side of Matts personality - ‘Wave Goodbye,’ ‘Unavailable’, ‘Black Diamonds’ in particular

That said, Matt has conjoured up a nice eclectic mix of songs and is not typecast into a certain set style. It’s the kind of album that you can have a favourite song from any of these, on any given day, depending on your mood and feeling. That in itself is a great thing.

SCORE - 8/10

Tracklisting

Black Diamonds

Home

On & On

Dare You To Watch

Kings & Queens

Unavailable

Do You Wanna Be My God

Old Enough & Ugly Enough

Wave Goodbye

Everything To You

Keep Me Safe

Waiting For The Sun

Matt Mitchell & The Coldhearts are

Matt Mitchell – Vocals & Guitar

Mauro Laconi – Guitars

Dom Ladd – Bass

Matt Cherry – Drums

Stevie watts – Keys

Connect with Matt Mitchell & The Coldhearts:
Official Website: http://www.mattmitchellmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmitchellmusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mmitchellonline
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mmitchellmusic/

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ABOUT ME

I was brought up on my dad's record collection of rock 'n' roll greats. He was a Teddy Boy and had all the gear (and hair) - drain pipe trousers, jacket, crepe shoes. We listened to Elvis, Bill Hailey, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Fats Domino, Tommy Steel, and the big names from the sixties such as Dave Clark Five, Wayne Fontana, Dave Dee (etc.,). This music was the kind that you would listen to to rebel against and annoy your parents; it was rough, wild, and the Ted's had a reputation.

So, fast forward to the end of the 70's. I was about 12 when it was the thing to choose your musical stance. It had to be a good choice as there was no going back. You had to be a mod, or a rocker back around 1980. I had a mate (still do, just the one mind) and he was an influence with regards to my musical tastes (and we still go gigging together to this day), and what with my dad's influence I chose the rocker route. I've never looked back. We (me and dad) both started a musical journey where our parents hated what we listened to! In fact, being a teenager in the mid 50s, it wasn't any different to being a teenager in the late 70's/early 80's with regards to rebellion. Although in my era, you couldnt get rickets.

I was fed strictly on a cassette diet of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Rush and Rainbow. From there it expanded into melodic rock and hair metal - Journey, Foreigner, Stryper, Ratt, Motley Crue, and Dokken. And Prog!

I absorbed all I could. I was a human sponge. The internet was eons away, so I got my fix via a wonderful weekly paper called 'Sounds.' It covered a lot of genres, but they specialised in Rock! I read it every week without fail for about three years. I loved the way their reporters wrote articles. It was like they were talking directly to me. It's how I try to do the same today. When it stopped, I moved with the crowd and subscribed to 'Kerrang!' A lot of the 'Sounds' crew moved across, and it felt like home. I wanted to know more about what was happening over in the U.S. So I subscribed to 'Hit Parader' - it was shite really, the articles weren't great, but the pictures were good. Plus I could follow the Dokken feud between Don and George. Thirty odd years later, they still hate each other! Today, its a diet of 'Classic Rock' Mag, sometimes 'Prog Mag', 'Fireworks' and 'Planet Rock' mag.

My enjoyment of this music has never waned. I see the same people time and again and its a great community. I try to get to as many gigs as I can still as its much better than sitting on your arse reviewing. I hope you enjoy the blog!

Paul Chesworth