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Nov 3, 2011, 3:00 pm


SECRET HISTORY: COLD COLD HEARTS’ S/T



Brandon Gentry


Secret History profiles classic D.C. albums to shine a light on the greatness of
the District’s rich indie rock past. This installment focuses on riot grrrl
instigators Cold Cold Hearts’ eponymous LP (Kill Rock Stars, 1997).

Emerging from the pines and precipitation of the Pacific Northwest in the early
1990s, riot grrrl blended the energy and DIY-aesthetic of punk rock and hardcore
with an aggressively feminist message, the sound of women challenging a
male-dominated rock culture by taking instruments and amplification into their
own hands. In particular, Olympia, Washington served as riot grrrl grrround
zero, launching pioneering bands like Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, Heavens to Betsy
(featuring future Sleater-Kinney vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker), and
Bratmobile. These groups pounded out full-throttle, catchy jams laced with
passion and vitriol, using punk’s directness and volume to encourage scores of
like-minded females to follow suit.

In early 1991, a nascent Bratmobile’s Allison Wolfe (vocals) and D.C.-area
native Molly Neuman (drums) — fellow students at the University of Oregon —
traveled to the District to hang out with Olympia’s indie pop legends Beat
Happening and D.C. agit-punkers Nation of Ulysses. While in town, they met
guitarist and Bethesda native Erin Smith, who was soon recruited into the band.
A galvanizing, trebly power trio renowned for their live shows, Bratmobile — who
split their time between Olympia and D.C. — released one full-length album
(1992’s Pottymouth) and one EP (1994’s The Real Janelle) before breaking up in
1994, thereby setting the stage for one of D.C.’s best all-girl groups, Cold
Cold Hearts.

By 1995, Allison Wolfe had relocated permanently to D.C., where she and Erin
Smith began formulating a new project. “We lived in The Embassy on 18th Street
in Mount Pleasant,” says Smith. “That group house really was the epicenter of a
lot of what was going on. Our first show (under our original name, Sweet Young
Fiends) was a Halloween show with The Cut-Throats at The Embassy. Sweet Young
Fiends were Allison and me and our friend Malcolm McDuffie from Meta-Matics on
drums. [Drummer] Katherine Brown and [bassist] Natalie [aka Nattles] from The
Cut-Throats later joined Sweet Young Fiends, replacing Malcolm, and we changed
our name to Cold Cold Hearts.”

“I felt I badly needed an outlet again to voice my frustrations, and that the
‘indie’ music scene needed more girl bands again/still,” remembers Wolfe. “We
were one of the few girl bands out there, especially after Bikini Kill and Team
Dresch broke up. There still aren’t enough girls in it! Someone’s gotta do it!”

Though similar in tone and approach to Bratmobile, Cold Cold Hearts was a major
evolution of the previous band’s sound, delving into surf and garage alongside
new wave, 4AD-inflected gauziness, and sharp Brit-pop. “Erin and I started the
band, so it was bound to somehow compare to Bratmobile,” says Wolfe. “But I
think having Nattles on bass made things sound different. I’ve rarely been in
bands with bass, so that changed everything for me. Also, Erin and Nattles were
really more into Slumberland and new wave/no wave, embracing a more reverbed
sound.”

Remembers Smith, “Bratmobile famously had no bass, so it was pretty wild
actually playing with a complete rhythm section…. Allison and I were listening
to a lot of Blur. I remember when we started playing together again in ’95, we
said, ‘The only good band right now is Blur. We have to do something; we have to
play together again. It’s up to us!’”

Additionally, the era’s fertile East Coast indie rock scene helped to expand the
band’s sonic horizons. “There were a few bands in D.C. that hung around or
played together in the mid-to-late ‘90s, a scene that’s somewhat overlooked. In
retrospect, I realize it was a pretty awesome era. We did a mini-tour with Delta
72, played with Sleater-Kinney some, and were friends with the Make-Up,” says
Wolfe. “I was especially into Blast Off! Country Style, Johnny Cohen’s Love
Machine, and Air Miami. Oh, and Cupid Car Club!”

“We played memorable shows with Romania, The Warmers, Blonde Redhead, Bis,
Chisel, Miranda July, The Need, Emily’s Sassy Lime, The PeeChees, The Monorchid,
and Fugazi,” says Smith. “We toured one summer with The Delta 72. We had an
incredible East Coast college tour with Bikini Kill and Team Dresch. I can
remember finding out that we were asked to go on that tour while I was at ‘80s
Night at Club Heaven in Adams Morgan, and just screaming — what a perfect bill!”

“The Monorchid were my favorite,” admits Wolfe. “We hung out with those guys a
lot; pretty hilarious dudes and a great band. My roommate and I dressed up as
the Andys from The Monorchid for Halloween once; we stole some of their clothes
while hanging out at their apartment, then drew on Sharpie butt cracks coming up
outta our jeans. In many ways, I felt that those guys really had my back. I
still do, actually.”

However, says Wolfe, “I’ve always felt that Cold Cold Hearts were
under-appreciated, especially in D.C. We rarely got booked to play in town. The
opening slots to the most suitable or girly out of town headliners would go to
other bands who had more of an ‘in’ with the booker, it seemed.” Consequently,
Cold Cold Hearts ended up frequenting New York City clubs. “One great thing from
that time was playing The Cooler in the Meatpacking District in New York, back
when blood was still on the streets,” remembers Wolfe. “We were practically the
house band and were treated like royalty there! We had such a blast and got paid
way more than Bratmobile ever did, and way more than at any D.C. show.”



“It was like we had a residency at The Cooler,” agrees Smith. “Once my friend
Jake Fogelnest brought Gabby Hoffman and Christina Ricci to come see us at one
of those shows. It was during the filming of Now and Then. Supposedly, Drew
Barrymore also came to see us.”

After releasing the Yer So Sweet (Baby Donut) 7” on Kill Rock Stars in early
1996, Cold Cold Hearts spent December 1996 in Arlington’s Let’s Rain Studios
with Unrest’s Mark Robinson, recording their first (and only) LP, Cold Cold
Hearts. 22 minutes of gender politics and foul-mouthed smarts disguised as
singalong gems, the album finds Wolfe taking aim at aloof indie rockers,
empty-headed groupies, and the socio-sexual dynamics that drive them. “When I
saw you walkin’ down my street / I thought, ‘That’s the kind of asshole I’d like
to meet,’” she spits in “Broken Teeth,” as Smith’s stun-ray guitar lines shred
the speakers. “I want you. How many ways can I be a fuckin’ bore doormat?”

Observes Wolfe, “I really missed the kind of grrrl-utopia of Olympia,
Washington, and my basically lefty lesbian feminist upbringing. Looking at those
lyrics now, it’s pretty wild seeing and hearing how maniacal I sounded in
reaction to that new environment.”

The founder of Teenbeat Records, Mark Robinson was hugely influenced by UK post
punk, and specifically Factory Records bands like Joy Division and New Order. He
adds texture and depth to Cold Cold Hearts’ approach, rounding out the attack
but leaving the sharp edges in tact. Songs like album opener “V.R.” – which
gleefully grabs from Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” – and the vengefully
shimmering “Cute Boy Discount” benefit from Robinson’s pop-centric
sensibilities, serrated hooks and pointed melodies glinting in the warm glow of
Robinson’s production.

“I’ve always thought Mark was a genius,” enthuses Smith. “He was my brother’s
best friend (they met at the University of Maryland in 1986 and did a radio show
together), so I’d known him for years when I asked him to produce us. I had
actually played second guitar live with Unrest in 1992. He had really
interesting ideas about what to do with the guitar and bass sounds; he’s a real
student of New Order and Factory Records. He also really liked my voice, so I
did backing vocals on the Cold Cold Hearts record, which I never did in
Bratmobile.”

According to Wolfe, “Mark Robinson is awesome to record with. He has great taste
and ideas, and he’s calm and not pushy. He helped us make it sound more
new-wavey, which didn’t seem to be allowed in Bratmobile recordings. He
encouraged doubled vocals and even doubled the bass tracks. I think the doubled
bass tracks became our signature sound. He also used feedback from our amp
percussively, turning it on for every first or third beat throughout a song. And
he had me sing through two mics at the same time, one clean and one distorted,
and then doubled those vocals — quadrupled vocals!”

Unfortunately, internal tensions proved too much for the quartet to bear, and by
1998 Cold Cold Hearts were history. “Musically, Cold Cold Hearts was probably my
favorite band that I’ve been in,” says Wolfe, “but getting-along-wise, the
worst. Unfortunately, it was completely dysfunctional from the start. There was
a basic lack of trust and communication that prevented the band from its full
potential, which is sad.



“I think we were handed a lot of opportunities on a platter outside of D.C., but
that we often squandered them due to extreme dysfunction,” continues the singer.
“Some members of my band seemed to be experiencing what I called ‘Sleater
Fever,’ thinking that we should have been instantly at the level of
Sleater-Kinney. Never mind that Sleater-Kinney had been around a few years
longer, that they were on their third album while we were on our first, and that
they had a paid publicist and booking agent from almost the beginning, while we
had none of that. I wanted to be in a punk band, and maybe that wasn’t
radio-friendly enough. But freedom of expression was the most important thing to
me; I wouldn’t compromise it. I can’t fake anything, perhaps to my own
detriment.”

After Cold Cold Hearts broke up, Wolfe and Smith went on to play in a
temporarily reunited Bratmobile; Wolfe has also spent time in Dig Yr Grave, Deep
Lust, Hawnay Troof, and currently plays in Partyline. Nattles joined Mark
Robinson in Flin Flon.

“In the same way that riot grrrl itself has had an influence beyond the ‘90s,”
Smith feels that Cold Cold Hearts helped to level the playing field a bit and
open up some indie space for female rockers. Wolfe hopes that the band has had a
lasting influence, but ultimately feels that Cold Cold Hearts should have had a
bigger impact. “Maybe people didn’t wanna deal with our inner drama, but
honestly, the best bands go down in flames fast. I’m much more attracted to
messy and real. I think if local labels and clubs had invested in us (or other
overlooked exciting bands of the time), then they could’ve counted on us for a
good draw and good sales, or a good time, at least! If you only bank on
stability, you get boredom, snoresville.”


Filed Under: cold cold hearts, music, Secret History


 
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