The Cold Beat
Dumbwaiter
Self-Released; 2009
By the time I worked my way through the six songs that make up Dumbwaiter from The Cold Beat, I realized one thing: I do enjoy a good bout of boozy, brazen bar rock. These four guys from Boston, MA have honed their songwriting and drinking skills playing in a host of punk bands about Beantown. This EP capably chronicles what happens when a group of friends who are simply hanging out and drinking at their favorite watering hole decide to play music together. While as the band revels in its lack of fancy trappings, there are instances when the loose, free, “intentionally” sloppy musicianship wears a bit thin for me. The ultimate downside here is that outside of “Antiquing” (complete with a line that calls to mind drunken mischief at its finest – “Don’t ride the dumbwaiter; your weight will make it crash. Unless if that’s what you want, then go and have a blast.”), the generic loping pacing and chugging guitars make all of the songs sound the same. That being said, The Replacements, The Hold Steady, and Jawbreaker can be heard all over Dumbwaiter, so there’s definitely something mildly charming about The Cold Beat’s rough and ragged approach to music making.