Cold In Berlin / Give Me Walls

Cold In Berlin
Give Me Walls
(2076 Records)

‘Give Me Walls’ is a sleazy cesspit of sex, pain and destruction. Inevitable comparisons are going to be drawn to Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Slits and PJ Harvey, but these are all references you need to look beyond; the band are a far more contemporary cult. Cold In Berlin are more in league with the crazed and frantic girl-fronted rock lineage started by Kasms, whose twisted debut was released last year.
Album opener and standout track ‘God I Love You’ sets the nihilistic tone for the journey beyond; the record quite literally drips with tormented sex appeal, with excitable yelps and husky murmurs leaving the listener feeling uncontrollably (and perhaps uncomfortably) drawn to its voyeuristic nature.
Singer Maya slips effortlessly between spilt-personalities as the record continues, whispering; “I want to eat your heart out one piece at a time” during the thunderous climax of ‘What Want Wrong’, before shrugging her shoulders with the quip “nothing really does it for me these days” on the following ‘Your Noise’.
With its half hour of aggressive hooks and punch in the face immediacy, we need albums like ‘Give Me Walls’ at the moment. As the record comes to a close during the muscular drums and bass battle of ‘Powerful Woman’, Maya screams out the self-referential remark that “this young woman is a powerful thing” - and fuck me, I’m not going to argue with her. Having listened, neither will you.