Coldswell

By Chris Steffen · Jun. 19, 2019

Cleveland-based trio Coldswell pays homage to the earsplitting guitar-powered rock of Dinosaur Jr., the Cure's bass-driven sense of melody, and the enveloping embrace of shoegaze on its new LP, Void Calls. There's also a dash of turn of the century melodic post-hardcore in the vein of bands like Hopesfall and Thursday, which gives some of the songs a more jagged edge. Void Calls is due out on June 21. - All Music

By Anne Nickoloff, cleveland.com

AKRON, Ohio -- This summer, Akron alt-rock band Coldswell plans to release its very first album, “Void Calls.” But first, they’re giving a taste of the project with a brand-new single, “Fairweather,” released on cleveland.com today. Listen to the song below.


“It is about a relationship, platonic, romantic or otherwise, where one experiences a lack of reciprocation from someone else,” said bassist Ian Hudson.

Hudson said the bassline was inspired by a Joy Division song. The band is a big influence on him and the rest of Coldswell.

You’ll hear that kind of influence throughout “Void Calls.”

“As far as what to expect, I’d say a healthy mix of ‘90s alternative mixed with ‘80s post punk and new wave groups,” said singer-guitarist Evan Krise.


Coldswell consists of Hudson, Krise and drummer Brandon Krise. The band has been making music for the past four years. In 2015, the group put out its debut EP, “Weary,” and a year later they followed it up with another EP, “Ruminate.”

In the three years that followed, Coldswell has been busy putting together “Void Calls.” The album builds on the band’s past work, Evan Krise said, incorporating the raw, energized sound of “Weary” with the relaxed approach on “Ruminate.”

“Overall, I think we have really come together as songwriters and are able to get a good mix of everyone's differing influences into this new record,” Evan said.

“Void Calls” was self-recorded, and Evan Krise mixed the project. Adam Boose at Cauliflower Audio mastered the album.

The project has been delayed a few times due to technical problems and conflicting schedules. It was originally supposed to be out after just a few months’ worth of work, Hudson said.

“Between all three of us having conflicting schedules, undergoing personal life events, and Murphy's Law occasionally taking effect… it turned into a couple of years, instead,” Hudson said.


The band has officially announced the release date of “Void Calls” for June 21. Pre-orders of the album are available on Coldswell’s website.

The next time you can catch Coldswell live is at the Grog Shop on March 31, in support of Ramsea and Madison Pruitt. Find more information about the show, and buy tickets, at the venue’s website. - Cleveland.com

MEET THE BAND: Evan Krise (vocals, guitar), Ian Hudson (bass), Brandon Krise (drums)

ORIGINALLY A SOLO ENDEAVOR: Evan Krise started the band about five years ago as a solo project and recorded the band's first EP, 2005's Weary, by himself. But when he decided he wanted to play the tunes live, he recruited college friend Hudson and his brother, Brandon Krise, to help, and the solo project became a band. Evan and Brandon Krise cite Dinosaur Jr., the Cure and Weezer as influences, and Hudson says Joy Division, Placebo and Devo influenced him. He also references new-wave and post-punk bands generally as inspirations. "When I'm writing songs, it doesn't feel like I'm consciously drawing from those influences," says Evan Krise. "It's more like putting together a puzzle. That's the way I look at it."

BUILDING ON THEIR EARLIER ALBUMS: After issuing Weary, the group followed it up with another EP, Ruminate. "That was more collaborative, and we started working on songs together for the first time for that album," says Evan Krise. For the full-length, Krise says he wanted to draw from the "raw sound" of the first EP and blend it with the sound of the second EP. The group recorded in Evan Krise's living room. "It was nice that if we made a mistake, it didn't cost us anything," he says. "It also meant that we had creative control."

WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR THEM: "Dark Eyes," the single from their new album, Void Calls, possesses a proggy, Incubus-like vibe as the song builds in tempo to the point that Evan Krise has to practically scream to be heard above the din. "'Dark Eyes' started as a riff," says Krise. "We then put together the different sections and I wanted to have a quiet/loud dynamic like the Pixies." "Fairweather" features a thick, Joy Division-inspired guitar riff and sounds like something the British band might have recorded in its early days. "Basically, I was coming up with something Joy Division-like that had a very simple bass part," says Hudson. "Most of my songwriting is stuff I make in my living room. I adapted that bass line and Evan's style is just sort of there, and it turned into 'Fairweather.'" - Cleveland Scene