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Cold Meat hail from Perth, Western Australia, but truly these are siren songs for every woman getting fucked over in every corner of this sorry planet, oozing total defiance and sneering, caustic rage across five certified slappers. They hex lazy pricks and bad bastards with a spell of spectacular jangeloid riffs and clattering anarcho toms, each track upping the stakes like a praying mantis - fuck, decapitate, eat corpse for nourishment. Vocalist Ashley's throaty, spit-splashed lyrics cover the full gamut from the care burden placed on mothers ('Maternity Stomp') to the psychic burden of hating men while craving dick ('Meat Joy'). This is incisive, tongue-in-arse-cheek, indefatigably Now punk. Cold Meat will have you fisting the air, but only if you lube up first. (Bryony Beynon)
Our take: Second 7” from this killer band out of Perth, Australia, though I'd forgive you for thinking Cold Meat are from London because they bear more than a passing resemblance to the almighty Good Throb. Like Good Throb (particularly on their LP), Cold Meat have a knack for making straightforward garage-punk sound as vital and as menacing as the genre has ever sounded. They’re not afraid to hang on a riff like Wire did early on, but the songs never get boring. That’s because the riffs themselves are as earworm-y as punk gets, and Cold Meat also has a notably powerful and charismatic singer. Most punk and hardcore vocalists these days yell and bark, but it’s rare to hear a vocalist who sounds like they mean it, like they’re the most terrifying drill sergeant ever and you’ve just stepped out of formation and have hell to pay. That’s what Ashley sounds like, and I imagine that if she gets in someone’s face with that voice the immediate response would be a wounded “yes ma’am” and a quick stop to whatever caused the confrontation. It resembles the power and authority that makes John Brannon one of the best hardcore vocalists ever, but this doesn’t sound like Negative Approach at all… it’s basically garage-punk, but with the meanness knob turned up to 11. If you like your punk loud and aggressive but still very catchy and minimal I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
Our take: Second 7” from this killer band out of Perth, Australia, though I'd forgive you for thinking Cold Meat are from London because they bear more than a passing resemblance to the almighty Good Throb. Like Good Throb (particularly on their LP), Cold Meat have a knack for making straightforward garage-punk sound as vital and as menacing as the genre has ever sounded. They’re not afraid to hang on a riff like Wire did early on, but the songs never get boring. That’s because the riffs themselves are as earworm-y as punk gets, and Cold Meat also has a notably powerful and charismatic singer. Most punk and hardcore vocalists these days yell and bark, but it’s rare to hear a vocalist who sounds like they mean it, like they’re the most terrifying drill sergeant ever and you’ve just stepped out of formation and have hell to pay. That’s what Ashley sounds like, and I imagine that if she gets in someone’s face with that voice the immediate response would be a wounded “yes ma’am” and a quick stop to whatever caused the confrontation. It resembles the power and authority that makes John Brannon one of the best hardcore vocalists ever, but this doesn’t sound like Negative Approach at all… it’s basically garage-punk, but with the meanness knob turned up to 11. If you like your punk loud and aggressive but still very catchy and minimal I can’t recommend this one highly enough.