Cold Years kicked off the year on Kerrang’s Hottest Bands of 2019 list, and things are still going up. Frontman, Ross, chats to Source about the band’s journey and their dream collaborations.
You started the year off by featuring on Kerrang’s Hottest Bands of 2019 list – what was that like for you?
Pretty cool – I grew up reading that magazine so it was weird to see that you’re considered to be amongst a ranking like that. It was really cool to see that the hard work we’ve put in is paying off.
Where did the inspiration for the latest single, Breathe, come from?
We’ve been writing the record for a long time now and this one was like a fresh start for us. We’ve done the same thing for a while and we wanted to do something new. This one was like a blank slate for us, just different perspectives: we’re a bit older now and wanted to go back to the roots of the music we spent our teenage years listening to.
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What can fans expect from the upcoming album?
It’s a bit different. I don’t like bands that do the same thing over and over again. We broke a couple of barriers in this one in terms of the sound. We’ve got a lot more to say now – there’s a lot going on in our country, a lot of different subjects and it’s quite relatable. You write about different things when you’re 30 than when you’re 19 or 20.
If you could collaborate with anyone on the next record, who would it be?
We’ve had this discussion hypothetically loads. There’s such a vast array of people and we all have such diverse musical backgrounds. I would say Brian Fallon because he’s got that voice and The Gaslight Anthem are such a great band. We get a lot of comparisons to them in terms of sound so that would be a cool fit.
I also really like Deaf Havana – we’ve done a few things with them so that would be awesome. They’re that diverse mix between pop and rock ‘n’ roll. And Dave Grohl – that will never happen but definitely Dave Grohl.
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How are you feeling about playing King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow next week?
Excited. That venue is like a rite of passage for a lot of bands, especially from Scotland. We’ve never played it before, been to a few gigs there though. It’s a cool venue, the people of Glasgow are great and we’re looking forward to it.
We’re going to be touring pretty hard next year. I just can’t wait to go out and share all the music we’ve written. It’s cool to change it up as well – you get to play all that material you’ve been writing about for so long.
What would you say has been the highlight of your career with the band?
We did a show with Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes which was crazy. We’ve played with Deaf Havana. We’re just back from 2000 Trees from a sold out tent – we didn’t ever think that was going to be a thing for us.
Going into and playing a festival in the south of England, not really knowing anyone there and being able to fill a tent was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that before. And they were singing the words back, it was just incredible.
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What advice would you give to any young people reading who are considering pursuing a career in music?
Get in the van and play as many places as you can. Write as many songs as you can and focus on perfecting them. Just learn your instrument. Put your hours in – once you get to the point where you think you’re a competent musician it becomes far easier to write songs.
Cold Years are playing King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut on Saturday 3 August. Tickets are available here.
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