If you are regularly reading our Rock Regeneration articles, you may have just come across a few items on Yorkshire Indie/Rock outfit Cold Culprits; which is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Andy Watson. His first single was released in April of last year and his journey of individual release has been fascinating to watch, with lots of eclectic twists and turns along the way. Like the rest of us, he has been living with all the restrictions that the pandemic has thrown up, however, he has been very proactive in using all at his disposal to create music for his ever-growing fan base. To think all this started after discovering an abandoned cassette in the street, which turned out to by Scottish punks “The Skids”, I am personally very thankful the cassette was not by “Coldplay”. It would have been must more understandable though that a “Coldplay” cassette was thrown away in the street.

The next part of the “Cold Culprits” musical journey starts on the 28th May with a single release called “Renegade Days”. Over the past few tracks, Andy has been pushing the boundaries using synths, piano, and even a violin. This track though uses the rudiments of rock n’roll to create a heavier more traditional sound. Andy explains “I’ve been exploring a lot of older heavy rock bands that I’ve not given much time to before, and that’s started to reshape my musical journey. Bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Alter Bridge, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam, who I’ve been aware of, but punk was more my thing at the time. It’s made me introduce a more guitar-driven outlook and step away from the keyboards. It’s also forced a bit of a return to my roots, as the guitar was the first instrument that I chose to play when I was a kid. Last year, I was kind of beginning to lean on keyboards and piano to add another dimension to my songs. I’m now making a conscious decision to strip out some of the layers and get a bit more of that guitar-driven rawness back.”

Cold Culprits

The song is a about journey through life, Andy writes here about a particular moment in time or an idea trying to create some kind of feeling. It is more about two people taking a journey through life together, two people battling against the world. The chorus points to the people and events around them changing, allegiances shifting or principles being deserted. Then having the world pulled away at times with events that change their lives. The song starts with these two people meeting, getting to know each other, understanding each other, and maybe going off the rails here and there. It traces their entire journey, through to the end. Whether that’s the breakdown of a relationship or the final departure of death, when there’s one person always left behind. It’s ultimately about remembering the good times and the journey.

“Renegade Days” is out on 28 May, available through all the usual streaming and download services

Links

http://www.coldculprits.com
https://www.facebook.com/coldculprits
https://coldculprits.bandcamp.com

Words by David Chinery (Chinners)