Cold Lake Sun
In just five tracks (four if you don’t count the 30-second intro), Thunder Bay’s own Cold Lake Sun’s debut EP Memento Mori showcases the band’s vast versatility. While opener “European Bloodlines” uses novelty keyboards and upbeat guitars to send its listeners in a more indie pop direction, “Bindweed” immediately subverts those expectations with its alt-country acoustic melodies. Meanwhile, closing track “Open Door” feels both musically and lyrically like a cheeky song you’d hear some campus band playing in a 90s teen movie. But despite the band’s knack for genre-bending, it’s the cathartic, desperate refrain and moody underlying synths on “Tell Me, Rachel” that show off their emotive abilities and really make this track Memento Mori’s pièce de résistance. For their debut effort, Cold Lake Sun has managed to avoid pigeonholing themselves and have opened up the gates for more experimentation to come.
-Melanie Larson
4/5
(NWO stamp)
