Waterloo, ON-based band Awake & Dreaming captivate on new track “Cold Shoulder,” a wonderfully evolving and stylish rock success. Spacey, psychedelic synths and wailing guitar twangs open the track with moody allure, followed by Sasha Kristoff’s melodic vocal presence. “Give me the cold shoulder, that’s okay, ’cause I’m over it,” she lets out, then escalating into a feverish briskness upon the climactic, visceral “rope’s getting tighter around your wrists” line. Moody keys add to the mix thereafter, as Kristoff asks “is it lonely up there at the top?”
An enthralling second half then resonates in its palpable momentum, centered around an evolving refrain: “I’m gonna dance in the street while it’s burning.” Layered, enthused vocals present with a mantra-like entrancement, with twanging guitar elements adding wonderfully to the steady vocals and rhythm section. “Cold Shoulder” is a fantastic showcase in songwriting and production from Awake & Dreaming, who describe the track as “about breaking out of the numbness modern life hands you.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
