While his other band Cherry Ghost is on a break, England’s Simon Aldred decided to experiment with new sounds on Invasion Of Love, his debut under his solo moniker, Out Cold. Taking up company with Motown sounds and calming synth, Aldred was influenced not only by his interest in challenging himself musically, but lyrically inspired by his recent coming out as gay.
Heavily stacked on the slower side of the spectrum, tracks like opener “All I Want” and “Fingers Through The Glass” are soulful, slower paced songs, the former with emphasis on bass lines and atmospheric synth, the latter more of a post-punk interpretation with clever keys. In the nearly perfect first half, “Murder Black Corvette” is chocked full of synth hooks and is more playfully funk, while “Shoulder To Shoulder” is beat driven and chilling, and would have fit comfortably in the ’80s synth/New Wave craze.
Later in the disc, Aldred gets even more rich and intimate with the harp looping and gorgeous strings on “Lovin Arms,” the Kraftwerk-esque feelings of “Synchronised” and the tailor made club sounds of “My Cruel Heart.” Lyrically, as suggested by the title, it’s mostly about relationships, romance and desire, though this time around Aldred is singing as a publicly known gay man, and the subject matter often comes from that vantage point.
Though he’s not likely to see the commercial success here as he has with Cherry Ghost, you have to respect that Aldred decided to gamble on an entirely different direction with his work. Determined to not make ‘another miserable Northern record’, he embraces ’80s dance, programmed beats and today’s electro-pop presence, plugging deep grooves, swirling lush moments and moody, romantic backdrops into this compelling album.
