| Cold
& Kind is the debut album from Chicago
septet The 1900s and the follow-up to their Plume
Delivery EP. From the morning moment of
‘waking up’ in “Georgia”
until ‘the end of day’ in “Supernatural”,
the entire album is a grand trip into the unknown
that makes no distinction between outer and inner
worlds, personal and political, utopia and apocalypse.
And oh yeah, it sounds totally sweet as well. Cold
& Kind is a highly ambitious record overflowing
with erotic melodies and of course, the band's trademark
vocal harmonies. Recorded mostly live to tape, the
record captures the energy of the band's remarkable
live show while also benefiting from the addition
of large string and horn sections. While clocking
in at exactly 40:00 minutes (in honor of finishing
the album on the 40th anniversary of Sgt. Peppers),
Cold & Kind keeps one foot in the past,
one in the future and another foot in your heart.
You'll dig if you dig: Tommy James, Fleetwood Mac,
Velvet Underground, Cat Power, Supremes, Roy Harper,
Arcade Fire, Dr. Dog, Midlake, Leon Redbone, Bill
Clinton on sax or Russell Crowe's band.
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Pitchfork:
"This is elegant pop, 1960s
radio pop, yes, but 1900s should also cop to some
less cool influences: Carole King ("When
I Say Go"), or "Danny's Song"-era
Kenny Loggins ("City Water") lurk on
Cold & Kind alongside the Mamas and Papas-style
harmonies."
Chicago
Tribune/Feature: "The 1900s
Create One of Year's Best Albums."
[online]
Desert
Living Magazine: "With a
six-person, mixed-sex line-up, the 1900s have
lots of chances to lay it on thick but that'snot
their thing - everything here is understated.
"Cold & Kind" is subtle psychedelia
reminiscent of early Jefferson Airplane while
other tracks are bubblegum gems built around surprisingly
simple hooks. Not exactly the Starland Vocal Band
but feigned innocence hasn't been this enjoyable
since "skyrockets in flight."
Bust
Magazine/Review: "Back in
the day, AM radio was the assimilator of the airwaves;
transistors tuned to sunshine frequencies and
trebled harmonies... And while those blasts are
long past, the 1900s absolutely nail that vibe
on their rich and confident debut."
Venus
Magazine/Feature: "Chicago's
ensemble band uses their collective efforts to
smother their city in lovely psychedelic pop sounds
with Cold & Kind."
Harp
Magazine/Fresh Faces Feature: "The
bouncy, piano-driven "When I Say Go"
would sound perfect blaring from a convertible
on the Pacific Coast Highway circa 1975... "Acutiplantar
Dude" uses Zombies-style harmonies to pay
tribute to a friend who died of a drug overdose.
You can practically see (and smell) the hippies
swaying to the pastoral "Georgia".
Under The Radar/Review: "Not
to be confused with Glasgow's The 1990s, this
Chicago outfit makes complex indie-pop anchored
by male/female harmonies, strings, piano, and
variously styled guitar... Substantial music delivered
with a delicate touch."
Big Takeover/Review: "From bleakly
narcotic to sunny and ebullient, Cold & Kind
covers some expansive emotional territory over
the space of an album. With nutmeg sweet vocals
courtesy of Edward Anderson and Jeanine O’Toole,
and tastefully florid orchestration, the record’s
a luscious baroque pop mélange pitched
roughly between Love’s Forever Changes and
The Zombies’ Odyssey and Oracle."
URB
Magazine/Next 1000/Artist Profile: "It’s
been over 40 years since the Zombies released
their chamber-psych-pop classic Odyssey and Oracle,
but don’t tell that to Chicago band the
1990s... However, the 1900s aren’t strictly
a retro throwback, their tight and bouncy pop
songs recall Belle & Sebastian’s recent
output or the mellower tracks on the New Pornographers’
Challengers."
Chicago
Reader/Feature: "Even if
you’ve been following their steady evolution
into a beautiful machine for the delivery of pop
bliss, even if you’ve seen them so often
you can sing along with songs they haven’t
recorded yet, the new album still might catch
you off guard. It’s actually kind of spooky
how good it is. With its wealth of unforgettable
hooks and its intricate, sensitively executed
arrangements, it feels like a classic on first
listen—it’s the kind of record that
seems to come from a more perfect dimension (or
at least from England), not from the band next
door. If the 1900s keep this up, it won’t
be long till the rest of the country falls for
them just as hard as Chicago has."
Paste
Magazine/Review: "Chicago
pysch-pop band pleasantly heavy on the pop...These
are sprightly pop ditties dressed up in regal
accoutrements, equally suited to fans of The Shins’
fluffy indie rock and Rufus Wainwright’s
musical theater."
FFWD
Calgary Weekly/Review: "The
well from which they draw their inspiration may
be popular, but few acts come away with such convincing
success as The 1900s do on Cold & Kind. Grounding
their songs with irresistible melodies, vocal
interplay between the band’s three singers
and a jaunty instrumental flair, The 1900s construct
incredibly likable songs that sound both comfortably
familiar and exciting."
SPIN/Mp3
Review: "On "City Water,"
these tensions are explored in a full blown folk
out that combines simple strumming, harmonic sing-alongs
and too-perceptive lyrics about lost loves in
windy cities... It's the 1900s' "Landslide"
[Fleetwood Mac] with the melodious grit of the
Hidden Cameras, so you better toast a glass of
merlot to sorrow and multi-member harmonies."
Pitchfork/Mp3
Forkcast: "The Chicago septet
apparently sprung fully-formed from the womb of
the local psych-pop scene, releasing an EP before
playing their first show and then getting signed
on the basis of that show. "Everybody's
Got a Collection", an outtake from their
upcoming full-length, Cold & Kind, is a swirling
synthesis of graceful strings, folk-pop guitars,
tinkling pianos, and cooed backing harmonies."
Stylus
Magazine/Review: "It's let’s-conquer-the-world
pop... Hit play and ride that frisson of delight
until you burn out."
All Music Guide/Review: "Cold
& Kind is the kind of record that will capture
the heart of anyone lucky enough to discover it,
a glittering jewel of well-written, perfectly
recorded, and heartbreakingly honest and true
music..."
The
Onion/Review: "The album
develops nicely on the promise of last year's
Plume Delivery EP, fleshing out the sound, finding
new ways to weave the vocals, and slipping unsettling
sentiments into its sunny melodies, taking a classic
sound and confidently tilting it to a modern angle."
Emusic/Review:
"The septet uses a pleasing
mix of boy/girl vocal harmonies, winning arrangements
and warm production to help you fall into the
proper reverie."
MTV/Feature:
"Chicago psych-pop squad the
1900s are only getting started — they're
stepping up with their Cold & Kind debut this
week. Oddly enough, the septet's violin player,
Andra Kulans, is also a part of the Quartet Parapluie,
who have performed with everyone from Kanye West
to Clay Aiken. The Fleetwood Mac-esque band features
keys, piano, strings and more."
Ink
19/Review: "Following in
the footsteps of Elephant 6 satellites Essex Green
and Ladybug Transistor, The 1900s mine from a
timeless Bacharachian/The Mamas and The Papas
baroque school of pop. Their melodies seem destined
for perfect pitch and placement, as though they're
covering one of their '60s idols, but this seven-piece
throws in some touches of '70s soft rock -- including
a fairly strong strain of Fleetwood Mac..."
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